After San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's polarizing national anthem protest went viral and sparked passionate debate from fans and fellow players, many NFL teams across the league - and even athletes outside of the NFL - began protesting the national anthem in their own way in solidarity with Kaepernick. Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin was a vocal supporter of Kaepernick, and the Seahawks began linking arms during pregame ceremonies to "stand up for social justice."
In a recent appearance on HBO's Any Given Wednesday, Baldwin revealed that they may have been an even greater number of protests, but some NFL owners stepped in and instructed their players to observe the anthem without making a statement.
"There are some owners out there who have taken a stand and told their players to do certain things, which I think is egregious. There's been owners that have told their players to do specific things... or to not do specific things, I should say. Specifically regarding the national anthem and the protests.
The one quote that I was informed of was 'you're gonna stand on the line with your hand on your heart, and you're gonna sing the national anthem, because this is my stage.'"
Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless discussed whether NFL owners were wrong to ban protests on Thursday's episode of Undisputed.
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