Surreal scene here in Nashville as entire #Seahawks, Titans teams including coaches, staff, all players skip national anthem pic.twitter.com/UCdANOKdAV
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) September 24, 2017
The Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans announced Sunday that both of their teams would remain in their locker rooms during their game that day, according to The Tennessean.
Both teams reportedly discussed the topic before the game and reached an agreement to not appear during the anthem, according to MMQB’s Adam Breer.
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“We will not stand for the injustice that has plagued people of color in this country,” the Seattle Seahawks said in a statement.
“Out of love for our country and in honor of the sacrifices made on our behalf, we unite to oppose those that would deny our most basic freedoms. We remain committed in continuing to work towards equality and justice for all.”
“As a team, we wanted to be unified in our actions today. The players jointly decided this was the best course of action. Our commitment to the military and our community is resolute and the absence of our team for the national anthem shouldn’t be misconstrued as unpatriotic,” the Titans said in their own statement, according to The Tennessean.
The Seahawks and Titans would be the second and third teams to protest the national anthem en masse — all but one member of the Pittsburgh Steelers remained in the locker room during their game earlier Sunday.
Players from teams across the league have been kneeling during the national anthem at games Sunday after President Trump said at a campaign rally Friday that NFL owners should fire players who participate in the protests.