Adrian Peterson is ready to kneel during the national anthem once the 2020 NFL season begins in September. The Washington Redskins running back talked to the Houston Chronicle on Friday and discussed Drew Brees’ anti-kneeling comments. Due to the death of George Floyd on May 25, Peterson said he won’t be the only one taking a knee this year.
“Just four years ago, you’re seeing Kaepernick taking a knee, and now we’re all getting ready to take a knee together going into this season, without a doubt,” Peterson said to the Chronicle. He went on to say, “Yeah, without a doubt, without a doubt,” when it comes to him kneeling. The NFL adopted a policy in 2018 that requires players to stand during “The Star-Spangled Banner.” However, players who didn’t want to stand could wait in the locker room until it was over. Peterson said if nearly every player kneels, the NFL won’t punish them. “We’ve got to put the effort in as a group collectively. Are they going to try to punish us all? If not, playing football is going to help us save lives and change things, then that’s what it needs to be,” Peterson added.
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This discussion all began when Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the 2016 season. He has been out of the league since the end of 2016. Since then, the outcry for him to be signed by a team is louder than ever. The NFL has stated Kaepernick can sign with any team he would like since he’s a free agent, but he has yet to sign a deal. This past weekend, a group of NFL players released a video asking the league to admit it was wrong to silence protesters like Kaepernick.
“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people,” Goodell said in a video. “We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all players to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe that black lives matter.” Donald Trump, who is against players kneeling during the anthem, shaded Goodell’s video, asking: “Could it be even remotely possible that in Roger Goodell’s rather interesting statement of peace and reconciliation, he was intimating that it would now be O.K. for the players to KNEEL, or not to stand, for the National Anthem, thereby disrespecting our Country & our Flag?”
