Tennessee Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews headed into the locker room during the playing of the national anthem four days after he said he would quit football if he was forced to stand.
Matthews remained off the field before the Titans took on the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, beating them 36-22.
Video captured by the Tennsessean shows him jogging down the tunnel ahead of kickoff.
He was the only Titans player who wasn’t on the field during the Star Spangled Banner.
His move came just four days after he said he would quit football if the NFL forced him to stand for the anthem.
Tennessee Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews headed into the locker room during the playing of the national anthem before the Titans took on the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night (Pictured, Titans’ Matthews, right, celebrates with Taywan Taylor after Taylor caught a touchdown pass against the Colts on Monday)
The move comes four days after Matthews tweeted that he would quit football if he was forced to stand during the national anthem (pictured)
On September 24, the whole Titans team stayed in the locking room as protests around the NFL started heating up.
Although Matthews will not be punished for staying in the locker room, the move comes less than a week after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement surrounding the anthem controversy.
‘Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem. It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us,’ the statement read in part.
‘We also care deeply about our players and respect their opinions and concerns about critical social issues. The controversy over the Anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues.
‘We need to move past this controversy, and we want to do that together with our players.’
Matthews (left and right) has stayed in the locker room for every game since September 24. When asked Friday if he stood by his initial statement that he would quit the NFL if he was forced to stand, Matthews said ‘not right now’
Matthews, whose half-brother, Christopher Ruiz, died in Afghanistan in 2015, was presented with an American flag in his brother’s honor ahead of the Titans’ preseason match against the Chicago Bears on August 27 (Pictured, Matthews leaps over Indianapolis Colts free safety Malik Hooker in the second half of Monday’s game)
On Thursday, Matthews was asked by a local TV producer on Twitter: ‘If NFL makes new rule on anthem.. will you still stay in locker room and face the fine/penalty?’
Matthews, in a since-deleted tweet, replied: ‘No I will be done playing football.’
When asked Friday if he stood by that initial statement, Matthews said ‘not right now.’
‘Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that,’ Matthews said. ‘I know the owners got a meeting next (week). Let’s just hope we don’t get to that.’
On Monday, Titans head coach Mike Mularkey did give a comment, saying he had just found out about the tweet.
Matthews, whose half-brother, Christopher Ruiz, died in Afghanistan in 2015, was presented with an American flag in his brother’s honor ahead of the Titans’ preseason match against the Chicago Bears on August 27.