Marshawn Lynch remains seated during national anthem

[True Dough]

Marshawn Lynch appeared to stage a silent protest in his return to the NFL, as the Oakland Raiders' running back remained seated during the national anthem prior to the team's exhibition opener at the Arizona Cardinals.

Photos show Lynch, who suited up but did not play, sitting on a cooler while holding a banana during the anthem.

Lynch has talked to the media once since he came out of retirement and was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks last spring, and that was in the offseason program.

This is what Lynch had to say about the Colin Kaepernick controversy while it was ongoing:

"With what’s going on, I’d rather see him take a knee than stand up, put his hands up and get murdered," Lynch said. "So my take on it is s--- has to start somewhere, and if that was the starting point, I just hope people open up their eyes to see that there’s really a problem going on, and something needs to be done for it to stop. And if you’re really not racist then you won’t see what he’s doing as a threat to America, but just addressing a problem that we have."

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20327882/oakland-raiders-marshawn-lynch-remains-seated-national-anthem

[CentralMass]

1. Seattle's gain is Oakland"s loss.

[Lotusflower70]

2. Wait what?

He started in Seattle, he's in Oakland now.

[CentralMass]

3. Yes. I know.

[hughee99]

4. If Oakland got themselves an over-the-hill running that's going to be a PR headache,

Last edited Sun Aug 13, 2017, 10:48 PM - Edit history (1)

Seattle did well to get something in exchange for him.

[JonLP24]

6. There were players last year for Seattle that stood with Kaepernick

Michael Bennett was one of them and last I checked he still plays for Seattle.

As far as PR headache it didn't seem to bother them but who cares? I could give a rats ass about the anthem and sick of them playing at sporting events. I always turn the channel when the obligatory anthem is playing.

[hughee99]

7. PR headaches are all relative to talent in the NFL.

They better you play, the more willing a team is to put up with it. Bennett is really good. Kaepernick less so. I'm not sure what Lynch has left in the tank. I personally don't think he's got much. He's got a lot of mileage on those wheels.

Personally, I would stand for the anthem, but if they don't, it's not something I'm going to get all worked up about. It's not a problem for me, and if it doesn't create problems in the locker room the team SHOULDN'T care either.

[JonLP24]

8. Lynch was banged up a couple years ago

Now he is fresh & healthy, I think the older a player gets they probably need to take a season off but I think he can be effective especially behind the offensive line. We'll see but that's just me. I wasn't sure if they were resting him or what but he didn't get any carries. If the reason was ability than he'll probably get cut.

As far as Bennett goes he has received a lot of positive press this off-season. I don't think it's a problem for them. Kaepernick takes the bulk of the abuse even though there are players all over the league that stood with Kaepernick but it doesn't bother people as much as Kaepernick does. I think moving out of Oakland is probably a bigger PR headache for them than Marshawn Lynch will ever be especially since they probably signed him to improve their PR as far as the Bay area is concerned.

Lynch's teammate says he's 'proud' of RB for anthem protest

NAPA, Calif. (AP) -- Marshawn Lynch isn't shedding anymore light on his decision to sit during the national anthem before the Oakland Raiders' first exhibition game.

Lynch declined to comment on why he chose to sit down Saturday night while the rest of his teammates stood during the anthem before a game in Arizona against the Cardinals.

That left his teammates to answer for him on Tuesday after the team returned for its first practice since that game.

''I'm proud of him,'' tight end Jared Cook said. ''I think it's awesome. Everybody has points of discussion after what happened in Charlottesville just the night before. I think it's important for men in our position to step up and speak on unnecessary situations we find ourselves in as minorities in this country. That's why I'm proud of him.''

Cook said he hadn't talked to Lynch about his stance and didn't know what specifically he was protesting. Other players who have declined to stand for the anthem have been much more open about their reasons, starting with former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose protest last year over police brutality and racial oppression made it a major issue in the NFL.

''We didn't talk to him,'' Cook said. ''I don't know his intentions. I don't know what he wanted to do by it. But I know that guys like Colin Kaepernick have become my favorite football players for doing it.''

https://sports.yahoo.com/lynchs-teammate-says-hes-proud-rb-anthem-protest-224315452--nfl.html

[47of74]

5. Good. After what happened yesterday...

...I don't think I could do any of this stuff - standing for the anthem, etc - and maintain a clean conscience.