Falcons owner Arthur Blank stands with his players during the national anthem on Sunday
President Donald Trump was at the center of the sports world over the weekend following his statements late last week at a rally where he said NFL owners should “fire or suspend” players who kneel during the national anthem in protest of the treatment of African Americans in the U.S. While that opinion is certainly not a new one, many players were up in arms and by Sunday all eyes were on the field to see how they would respond.
A pair of Atlanta Falcons, defensive linemen Grady Jarrett and Dontari Poe were the first Falcons to kneel during the anthem, taking a knee as the rest of their teammates, and owner Arthur Blank, stood arm in arm on the field.
Blank had already made a statement on Trump’s comments, saying he would stand by the players and that he was proud of the impact they made on their local communities.
“We are at our very best when we are working together, building unity and including everyone’s voice in a constructive dialogue,” he said in a statement. “Creating division or demonizing viewpoints that are different than our own accomplishes nothing positive and undermines our collective ability to achieve the ideals of our democracy.”
The players kneeling were not shown on FOX’s coverage, but apparently fan’s could be heard yelling “Stand up or move to Canada” from the stands behind the team’s bench.
