Kenny Stills has been one of the players at the center of the national anthem protest movement across the NFL over the past few years, and the wide receiver continued to partake in it before his first game as a Houston Texan on Monday night. Head coach Bill O’Brien likely knew that would be the case, and he has no issue with it.
After his team’s heartbreaking loss to the New Orleans Saints in one of the best games we will see all season, O’Brien was asked about Stills kneeling during the anthem. He said that is the receiver’s “prerogative.”
Bill O'Brien on Kenny Stills kneeling during the national anthem: 'Kenny exercised his right, his prerogative. I’m not going to really get into that. I talked to Kenny. Kenny is a good guy, very smart guy, very articulate guy, and he’s a really good football player.'
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 10, 2019
Stills made headlines during training camp for publicly criticizing Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross over his support of Donald Trump. He was then outspoken about the NFL partnering with Jay-Z and Roc Nation Sports, and Dolphins coach Brian Flores admitted to challenging Stills over that at the start of a practice.
There was some talk that the Dolphins parted ways with Stills because of his outspokenness with political issues, but he does not think that was the case. Either way, the Texans knew what they were getting, so O’Brien’s opinion on the subject is not a surprise.
