Cleveland Brown’s quarterback, Baker Mayfield, was criticized by a fan for his decision to kneel during the national anthem next NFL season to support protests against racial injustice and police brutality.
What We Know:
- Quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, Baker Mayfield, posted a video of him working out on Saturday only for a fan to comment pleading him not to kneel during the season. Mayfield responded by saying, “Pull your head out. I absolutely am.”
- While there was support for his decision, a lot of fans of the Browns didn’t agree with Mayfield’s post, which led them to comment on it and criticize Mayfield. Mayfield posted a long message on his Instagram story explaining his decision.
- “Everybody so upset about my comment doesn’t understand the reasoning behind kneeling in the first place…Nate and Kap came to an agreement that kneeling was the most respectful way to support our military while also standing up for equality,” he said. “I have the utmost respect for our military, cops, and people that serve OUR country.”
- “It’s about equality and everybody being treated the same because we are all human,” he continued. “It’s been ignored for too long and that is my fault as well for not becoming more educated and staying silent. If I lose fans, that’s okay. I’ve always spoken my mind. And that’s from the heart.”
- And while Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien is all for supporting his players who choose to kneel during the National Anthem, new Browns coach, Kevin Stefanski, isn’t going as far as O’Brien but is supporting his players in peaceful demonstrations. He recently attended a peaceful protest a week ago.
- “My position is I want to make sure I support our players,” Stefanski said. “First things first, I want to make sure I sit down with them and talk … I can just promise you this, we will spend as much time as needed to make sure that we are all on the same page and we are a united front from a player, staff, you name it (standpoint).”
- In response to the kneeling matter, President Donald Trump responded to Ohio US Rep. Jim Jordan’s tweet about the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team being allowed to kneel during the National Anthem, saying that he won’t be watching the NFL if players start kneeling again.
The 2020 NFL schedule was posted on May 7 and the first game will be on Sept. 10 with the Kansas City Chiefs playing against the Houston Texans.
