Rather than seeing her players take a knee during the national anthem on Sunday, Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford offered to make a charitable donation to any local community cause instead.
The Lions had eight players take a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality against minorities before playing the Atlanta Falcons on September 24. However, Ford offered to make a donation to any local community cause the protesting players supported in exchange for those players standing throughout the anthem, according to the Detroit Free Press.
All but two protesting players – linebackers Steve Longa and Jalen Reeves-Maybin – took Ford up on the offer.
All but two protesting Lions players – linebackers Steve Longa (No. 54) and Jalen Reeves-Maybin (No. 44) – stood for the anthem before Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings
‘She just asked us not to take the knee,’ defensive end Cornelius Washington told the Detroit Free Press. ‘She told us she would back and support financially as well as put her name on whatever issues that we wanted to try to attack.
‘But as far as the kneeling,’ Washington continued, ‘she… felt like there was better ways to get the point across. And at this point, people know what we’re kneeling for so now trying to take that next step in the plan of action to foster change is, that’s the next part and that’s the part she’s willing to get behind.’
Running back Ameer Abdullah, who protested before the Falcons game but not on Sunday, is hoping to ‘aid in growing the social awareness in this country’ because ‘there is a race problem.’
‘We do dance around the topic a lot and Mrs. Ford has come forward and said that as long as we compromise as a team and unify and make a unified demonstration, she’ll back us financially,’ Abdullah said. ‘So I’m definitely going to hold her to her word.’
Detroit Lions owner Martha Ford (center right) stood with her players and locked arms with Lions coach Jim Caldwell (right in black) before the September 27 game against Atlanta
Vikings players stood with their arms locked before Sunday’s game against the visiting Lions
The specific recipient of Ford’s money has yet to be announced.
Defensive tackle Akeem Spence was one of the Lions players who took a knee before their Week 3 game, afterwards announcing on Twitter that his peaceful protest cost his contractor father a job.
‘Got some awful news from my father a contractor [a potential customer denied] giving him a job on doing a house because of my peaceful protest #smh,’ Spence wrote on Twitter Thursday.
Spence’s father Floyd could not be reached at his home or business for comment.
Spence told the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday that his taking a knee was ‘no disrespect to the American flag’.
‘It’s about right and wrong, like I always say,’ Spence said.
‘And what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong,’ he continued. ‘It’s no offense to nobody, no disrespect. Just like I always tell people, love one another and we’ll be alright.’
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Akeem Spence (far left) shared on Twitter earlier Thursday that his father, a contractor, was denied a job on a house due to his protest
Spence was among the eight Lions players who took a knee before their game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday
The demonstrations began in 2016 when then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat for the duration of the anthem before a preseason game to protest police brutality and racism against minorities. The protests gained steam throughout last season and several players continued demonstrating by sitting, kneeling, or raise a fist during the anthem in 2017.
But after Week 2 of this season, when only a handful of players participated, President Donald Trump took aim at the protesters, calling them ‘sons of b******’ during a speech in Alabama on September 22.
Trump followed with an onslaught of critical tweets throughout the following weekend. But if his intention was to dissuade the players from protesting, Trump missed the mark. Over 200 players demonstrated in one way or another in Week 3.
Most NFL sidelines on Sunday featured players standing for the anthem or kneeling in protest, but several teams decided to demonstrate as a team.
For instance, the Dallas Cowboys coaches, players, and even owner Jerry Jones knelt while locking arms before their Monday Night Football game in Arizona on September 25.
Fans booed in response, leading Trump to tweet on Tuesday that the boos were the ‘loudest’ he had ever heard.
Only around 40 or so players around the NFL sat or knelt during the national anthem on Sunday.