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PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Michael Bennett was sitting on the bench near the end of the national anthem before the opening game of the NFL season against Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Bennett, who has already appeared in the Seattle Seahawks hymn, stood behind defenseman Malcolm Jenkins early in the hymn on Thursday night. Later, he went to the Eagles' bench and paced in front of him, then, the song approaching the end but still underway, sat on the bench.
Jenkins stayed up during the anthem and did not raise his fist, as he did in the past. It did not appear that a Falcon player protested during the anthem on Thursday.
The kickoff of the match was delayed about 45 minutes by a storm.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell attended the match and was seen on the ground in advance S addressing Meek Mill, the rapper who was released from prison in April after being convicted of probation offenses.
DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, was returning from a trip to visit players from the West Coast and was not present.
"Today, football is back", the Coalition of Players written on Twitter, accompanied by a photo of Jenkins, shortly before the kickoff. "But every night, more than 450,000 people are in prison [without] to be found guilty of a crime. Many are there because they can not buy their freedom with a cash deposit. "
Jenkins is a leader of the Players Coalition, the group that took the lead last year to negotiate a social justice initiative with the league. Under this agreement, the NFL and teams fund community activism programs.
The first game of the season arrived Thursday night without an agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association on a new national anthem policy. The league and the union have been deliberating on a possible compromise since their agreement on the status quo in July, which included a modified policy, as well as a grievance filed by the NFLPA regarding this new policy.
[NFL owners willing to waive discipline for protests if union endorses players standing for anthem]
Moderate owners are now willing to give up the discipline for any protest from a player as part of a potential compromise if the union approves players who come forward for the anthem, according to several familiar people with the internal workings of the league. Such a commitment by the NFLPA would be tantamount to a non-binding vow for the players, if it is actually accompanied by owners who do not accept any discipline to protest.
This compromise would probably serve as a basis for a compromise between the league and the union if there were to be an agreement in the days or weeks to come. It was clear that last week there would have been no deal before the Eagles-Falcons match. This left the owners and league officials curious to see what Jenkins and the other players would do on Thursday.
Other NFL teams play their season games Sunday and Monday night. Some people close to the process Thursday expressed skepticism about reaching an agreement by Sunday.
[As new NFL season begins, national anthem controversy drags on with no clear solution]
Nike was to broadcast an ad when NBC broadcast the game as part of its new promotional campaign that includes Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers who launched the protest movement in 2016., the official supplier of NFL uniforms, has further intensified the public debate about the protests of players and the role of Kaepernick towards them.
A small number of players protested during the pre-season, which began with Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson, Miami Dolphins teammates, and Marshawn Lynch of the Oakland Raiders. Jenkins was among the other players who raised their fists, and some players chose to stay off the field.
[Malcolm Jenkins, the new face of NFL player protests, says ‘We’re really just at the beginning’]
These pre-season presentations were followed by the NFL, reiterating its preference for players to show up at the anthem, while adding that players would not be sanctioned for any protest during deliberations with the union.
The May National Anthem Policy allowed the league to amend a team for a protest by a player and left it up to each team to decide if a player would be disciplined. He gave players the opportunity to stay in the locker room during the anthem. The previous anthem policy, which was in effect last season, required players to be on the field and suggested, but did not require, their presence.
Kaepernick and other actors said the protests were intended to draw attention to racial inequalities and policing of African Americans. President Trump and other critics of the protests called them unpatriotic and disrespectful of the flag and the army.
Learn more about the NFL:
For decades, the NFL has seized the flag. Now this has hindered business.
The NFL is back. And he did not learn anything.
Ready for football? Not while I have the risks of being stuck in my head.
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