As Thursday night’s slate of preseason games got underway, most eyes were on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his continued protest of the national anthem.
But Kaepernick was not alone this time around, being joined by teammate Eric Reid and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane, who also chose to sit and show his support.
Following Seattle’s 23-21 victory over the Oakland Raiders, head coach Pete Carroll stood by Lane and his decision to sit, saying he’s “proud” of the progress that’s being made thanks to the ongoing protests.
“This is a very interesting issue that we’re dealing with right now,” Carroll told reporters on Thursday night (via Seahawks.com). “Our team has been working at it and we’ve been in the process of communicating about a lot of stuff right now. That was an individual thing, but I’m really proud of the progress we’re making in the conversation and I look forward to continuing it with our guys.
“It’s really important to us to understand and to be smart about what we’re doing, how we handle our business, and we have, like I’ve been telling you, a great group of guys that lead this team, and they’re going to help us as we move forward. I’m very much in support of them and how we handle it. This was an individual statement tonight.”
Similar to the criticism Kaepernick has received for his ongoing protest, Lane expects ire to now come his way.
“Yeah, I am prepared for it,” Lane said. “I don’t mean any disrespect to anybody. But I’m just standing behind what I believe in.”
Both Kaepernick and Lane vow to continue their protests until “justice has been served.”
