Doug Pederson stands with his players.
The first-year Eagles coach was asked Saturday whether he would prevent his players from protesting during the national anthem on Monday night if they choose to do so and expressed his support of whatever action they wish to take.
"If they wanted to do something teamwide, I would definitely be for that," Pederson explained. "I think it just shows unity, and there's no division that way. And I think it sends a great message that from our standpoint and the National Football League and the platform and as individuals, we love this country and what it represents and the flag and the national anthem and everything.
"Listen, we're not perfect, obviously, and for us to stand sort of united that way would be -- I would be OK for that."
On Friday, veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins initiated the discussion about a potential protest by Eagles players on Monday night, in the same vein as other demonstrations that permeated throughout the league in Week 1. Per SportsRadio 94WIP, Jenkins said that he will "most likely" be joining in on a protest and that other Eagles will "definitely" do something during the anthem.
Jenkins added, "We got guys, especially myself, who feel very strongly about the topic and last week, we talked about doing some stuff, but we wanted to make sure that we didn't do anything to take away from the folks, and the families that suffered from 9/11. We didn't want to mess with that day.
"For me, it has nothing to do with this country, or the flag, or the anthem itself. Really, it's just to continue to push for the conversation about social injustice. ... That's a range of things from police brutality to wages and job opportunities, education. It's just a lot of things set up systematically in this country, since its inception, that really puts minorities, especially African-Americans, at a disadvantage."
Colin Kaepernick's decision to sit during the national anthem to protest social injustice against African-Americans and other minorities in the United States has clearly found support among NFL players. Last week, players from the Seahawks, Chiefs, Dolphins, Patriots, Rams and 49ers all staged demonstrations of unity during the national anthem.
