Cam Newton speaks at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina following a Panthers and New Orleans Saints game (34-13). Though Newton did not protest during the national anthem as teammate Julius Peppers did, the quarterback said society still has work to do.
Late last week the president of the United States used the phrase “son of a bitch†to describe NFL players who protest during football games. During a speech in Alabama, the president said owners should fire these players.
This prompted a rebuttal from most of the league. Many teams responded by condemning Trump’s comments while players either kneeled or locked arms during the anthem. Three teams even stayed in the locker room during the song.
Julius Peppers of the Carolina Panthers was the only player to protest in some form on his team. He said he felt this was his moment to speak up by staying in the locker room during the anthem before their game against the New Orleans Saints.
“I want to get one thing clear,†Peppers said. “This wasn’t about disrespecting the military, disrespecting the flag, police, first responders—none of that.â€
Peppers said he didn’t want to invite any of his teammates to do something if they were not comfortable.
“It was about me making a decision as a man on my two feet,†Peppers said. “I just thought it was appropriate to stay in…I felt like [Trump] attacked our brothers, my brothers in the league. So, I felt like it was appropriate to stand up for them and stay in the locker room.â€
Peppers said he acknowledged some people would be upset with his decision, but he said he is not focused on that.
“I know a lot of people might not understand it,†Peppers said. “A lot of people might be upset about it, and that’s fine. I’m not living my life up here trying to make everybody happy.â€
Peppers said he is doing things he feels are right.
“It’s only a few times in a man’s life where you have a chance to stand up for something that you believe in and make a statement,†Peppers said. “So today I thought it was that chance. So I took it.â€
Though the Panthers team did not protest with their teammate, quarterback Cam Newton said society still has work to do.
“In my opinion, some of the remarks were unacceptable, especially in certain people’s position,†Newton said in a press conference after the game.
Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue also spoke to the media in Charlotte to condemn Trump’s comments. He made sure to reiterate he was speaking as a private citizen and not for the league.
“To single out any particular group of players and called them SOBs, to me that’s insulting,†Tagliabue said at the conference. “And when it comes to speech, they are entitled to speak. We are entitled to listen. We are entitled to disagree or agree for that matter, but we are not entitled to shut anybody’s speech down.â€
As of now, only four NFL owners have yet to speak about Trump’s comments. One of them is Jerry Richardson of the  Panthers.
In a press release, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said he gave the players his opinion on standing together during the National Anthem with “feet at ten and two, left hand down at our sides, right hand on our heart.â€
“We need to think and envision an America that we believe in that’s free from injustice, that’s free from bigotry, free from prejudice and then when you guys ask me, we tell you that,†Rivera said in the press release. “We tell you we believe in America, we support our military, we support our first responders and we most certainly do not believe in racism and bigotry...we want to see that out of this county.â€
