RENTON, Wash. (AP) Seattle Seahawks defensive back Jeremy Lane said Monday he will continue to sit for the national anthem when the regular season begins Sunday at home against Miami.
After sitting during the anthem in the Seahawks’ final preseason game last Thursday, Lane said San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick thanked him for his support and his matching gesture.
”He reached out to me and just told me thank you for standing behind him,” Lane said.
While Kaepernick and 49ers teammate Eric Reid amended their protest to taking a knee instead of remaining seated for the anthem, Lane said he intends to keep sitting.
Lane said he hasn’t noticed much in terms of negative response for the decision and that he feels he has support of the team and his teammates in expressing his stance. He spoke with Seattle coach Pete Carroll after his initial gesture in Oakland and Carroll’s advice was ”just be smart.”
Lane said he hasn’t received indication if any teammates will join in his action.
”I don’t know. I don’t want to put no pressure on no one,” Lane said. ”I’m doing it for me.”
Lane is in his fifth season with the Seahawks and signed a four-year contract extension to remain with Seattle in the offseason. While his answers were brief on Monday, teammate Michael Bennett was more expansive when asked about Lane’s decision.
”I think it’s his right to be able to protest, and I think it’s all right. There’s definitely some issues in America that a lot of people are starting to recognize,” Bennett said. ”I think people have recognized them before, but I think with social media and the things that are going out, the media outlets, everybody has a chance to really show what is going on and their ideas and really having a chance to really protest what they think is wrong with America. And that’s OK.
”That’s what it’s about. It’s about people having that right to have their voice, and I think it’s cool that Jeremy Lane is doing what he wants to do.”
While Kaepernick he intends to donate $1 million ”to different organizations to help these communities and help these people,” Lane – who makes significantly less than Kaepernick – said he has not made a decision on any financial support.
”I haven’t thought about that,” Lane said. ”Not saying I won’t but I haven’t thought about it.”
NOTES: Carroll said Monday that RB Thomas Rawls looks to be back to full speed and wants to him get a significant number of chances against the Dolphins. ”This is his second preseason game in a sense, as far as relative to the other guys. So we’ll see how he does. I’d love for him to carry the ball quite a bit in this game, and then we’ll know where we stand going into the next week,” he said. … TE Jimmy Graham is also closing in on being ready to play, but Carroll wouldn’t guarantee his availability for the Dolphins. ”We’re going one day at a time with the thought that he’s going to play. That’s our thought,” Carroll said. ”We’ll find out how that works out with no goal in mind really at this point.”
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