Last weekend, NFL players and teams decided to take part in peaceful protests during the playing of the American national anthem before their respective games.
Some players decided not to come out for the anthem, while others decided to take a knee or sit while it was playing.
In the last few days, Sharks forward Joel Ward and Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds have said that they’d consider a similar type of peaceful protest, while Predators defenseman P.K. Subban made it clear that he isn’t interested in doing that.
Regardless of which side of the fence players sit on, the NHLPA made it clear that they support any type of peaceful protest coming from their players.
The head of the players association, Donald Fehr, sent a memo to all players on Wednesday night. Here’s a portion of that memo via John Hoven:
“As you know, we now see a marked increase in the number of professional athletes kneeling, sitting, locking arms or otherwise taking a different approach to acknowledging the playing of the U.S. national anthem. It certainly appears this will continue in the near future, as will the public conversations surrounding the issue.
“We believe each player may choose to speak out or engage in peaceful protest on matter that are important to him. A player is entitled to his own views on political and social issues, and the right of each player to express such views deserves deserves respect. Should a player decide to make such a peaceful protest, he would of course have the full support of the NHLPA in regard to his right to do so.”
In related news:
NHL owners believe the anthems are part of the tradition of the game of hockey. Particularly in those cities where the fans sing.
— John Shannon (@JShannonhl) September 28, 2017
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Related:
--P.K. Subban won’t protest during national anthem
--Sharks’ Joel Ward wouldn’t say no to kneeling during anthem