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On Tuesday, Tortorella told ESPN: "If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game."

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Originally posted by Floyd D. Barber:

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Seahawks players may expand national anthem protest Sunday vs Dolphins
STEPHEN COHEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

RENTON -- The Seattle Seahawks hope to make a statement in their season-opening matchup versus the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

But some of the players might make a statement before the game even starts.

Following protests by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Seattle cornerback Jeremy Lane, members of the Seahawks might join together to address the issues that motivated Kaepernick to first sit, then kneel during the playing of the national anthem.

Linebacker Bobby Wagner said Wednesday that the team is considering a show of unity in order to promote justice and equality for all Americans, regardless of skin color.

"Anything that we want to do, it's not going to be individual," Wagner said ahead of practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. "It's going to be a team thing because that's what the world needs to see. The world needs to see people coming together versus being individuals."

Kaepernick sat for the national anthem during the preseason as a way of protesting what he believed to be the unequal treatment of minorities in America -- specifically police brutality against African Americans -- telling NFL Network he refused to "stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppressed black people and people of color."

Lane followed Kaepernick's lead ahead of Seattle's preseason finale versus the Oakland Raiders on Sept. 1, while Kaepernick and teammate Eric Reid amended their protests to kneeling during the national anthem as a sign of respect to the military ahead of the Niners' final preseason game.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told reporters he expected Lane to continue his protest on Sunday.

"We've talked some about it," Carroll said. "He's pretty clear what he did and what he was trying to express. I think it's very simple, so we'll leave that up to him. But he's understanding the responsibility of it, I think, and shouldering it."

Wide receiver Doug Baldwin, never shy about expressing his opinions, took to Facebook to discuss the issue on Sept. 4, using a parable to argue people were more concerned with Kaepernick's method of protest than the issues he raised.

"I think that's what the issue is here," Baldwin said on Wednesday. "We're missing the message in terms of what we're talking about. It's not necessarily about the messenger or about the protest itself. It's about what we're pointing to."

Baldwin and his teammates have discussed a larger protest, but the 27-year-old said he wanted to get "all of my ducks in a row" before he disclosed any plans.

One complicating factor could be that Sunday's game falls on the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a fact that's not lost on Baldwin.

"I think that anybody should be thinking about that," Baldwin said. "Even if it wasn't Sept. 11, the point of the protest is to get people to think.

"I think it's very ironic that 15 years ago on Sept. 11 is one of the most devastating times in U.S. history, and after that day we were probably the most unified that we've ever been," he continued. "And today you struggle to see the unity."

According to Baldwin and Wagner, both team leaders, the unity Carroll has helped create among a diverse group in the Seahawks locker room makes them uniquely prepared to take a stand.

"It's different in our locker room," Baldwin said. "Whatever decisions you make, we understand that we're all human beings. So some of us might not agree, some of us will agree, but at the same time we give each other slack because we're all human beings."

"I enjoy having conversations because we're fortunate enough to have black people, white people, all types of people in this locker room," Wagner said. "You get to see different backgrounds, different journeys. I think that's what separates the NFL, because there's so many different cultures in here that you get to learn from -- that you get to experience -- that people from the outside don't get to experience.

"We don't live in a box," Wagner continued. "We understand that there's different types of views, different types of actions, and we have the open minds to listen to it."

http://komonews.com/sports/sea...t-sunday-vs-dolphins

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“I’m not against the military, I’m not against America,” he said. “I’m against social injustice.”

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Originally posted by entropy:
Can you imagine this crap happening 10 years ago?

Of course not.

Fundimentally
Change
America

Piece by piece. Institution by institution.

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expresses anxiety that other Marines or sailors will notice her filmed protest and confront her about it.

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Well if we could just stop giving them any press it will go away

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Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall said he expected pushback. He knew not everyone would agree with his decision to kneel for the national anthem before the Broncos’ season-opener against Carolina on Thursday evening.

He expected some to perceive his protest, designed to highlight issues such as racial inequality and police brutality, in a negative light.

Friday morning, his expectation became reality when Air Academy Federal Credit Union released him from his endorsement deal. Marshall became AAFCU’s official spokesperson in May.