colin kaepernick was the first nfl player to protest the national anthem.
colin kaepernick was the first nfl player to protest the national anthem.
who was the first nfl player to protest the national anthem?
colin kaepernick
on october 8, 2017, pence walked out of a game between the nfl's indianapolis colts and san francisco 49ers at trump's request after members of the 49ers knelt during the national anthem. shortly afterwards, pence commented via twitter, "president trump and i will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our flag, or our national anthem"; further adding, "while everyone is entitled to their own opinion, i don’t think its too much to ask nfl players to respect the flag and our national anthem." pence was widely criticized by various people for what was considered a publicity stunt. democratic representative adam schiff (ca-28) questioned how much taxpayer's money was used to fund pence's actions, and it was later estimated that the cost of it all was about $242,500. 49ers safety eric reid (the second nfl player after colin kaepernick to participate in the protests) told reporters that it was predictable that pence would walk out, knowing that most of the team were protesting. reid also expressed doubt over the regularity pence is in terms of attending colts matches, and referenced a photograph of the vice president and his wife in colts uniform that had been tweeted before the match, although the official photograph (right) proved otherwise. the photograph in question was first published in 2014. sportswriter peter king wrote that the furor surrounding pence had overshadowed peyton manning, who was being honored by the colts, saying, "pence trumped a day that belonged to the greatest football hero the state of indiana has ever seen, and he did it for political purposes...he stole manning's last great day as a colt. [he] will have to live with himself for that." the following year, pence reacted positively on twitter, after nfl owners unanimously decided to approve a new policy requiring all players to stand (or, given the option to stay in the locker room) during the national anthem, despite not consulting the nfl players' association.
mike pence
bullet::::- jeff blackshear, former nfl player









































bullet::::- willie blade, former nfl player









































bullet::::- eddie blake, former nfl and cfl player









































bullet::::- ricky blake, former nfl and cfl player









































bullet::::- eldra buckley, former nfl player









































bullet::::- leonard burton, former nfl player









































bullet::::- wesley carroll, former nfl player









































bullet::::- kory chapman, former nfl player









































bullet::::- treston decoud, former nfl player









































bullet::::- dan footman, former nfl player









































bullet::::- john grisham, author, lawyer and politician









































bullet::::- damon harrison, nfl player









































bullet::::- roy hart, former nfl player









































bullet::::- donald hawkins, nfl player









































bullet::::- bill houston, former nfl player









































bullet::::- cletidus hunt, former nfl player
northwest mississippi community college