Super Bowl protest: Will anyone take a knee? What does it mean? Why are they doing it?
WILL any players take a knee at the Super Bowl? Why are they doing it?
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One of the biggest stories in the NFL this season has concerned something that actually happened off the field.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the American national anthem last season to protest police brutality against African-Americans, as well as other social issues and inequalities.
Super Bowl: Live stream, TV channel, how to watch, kick-off time, odds, who will win?
His contract was not renewed by San Francisco in the summer and other players took it upon themselves to continue Kaepernick’s work in 2017, with some teams even refusing to come into view of fans until the anthem had already been played.
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Could a player take a knee at the Super Bowl?
It's unlikely.
Both Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots players have taken a stand - figuratively speaking - during the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ this season but no player from either team has protested since week 12 of the campaign.
Many players felt they had succeeded in drawing attention to their concerns around social injustices and so stopped their protests.
And while everyone in the US Bank Stadium on Sunday will be asked to ‘please rise’ for the anthem, the NFL insist no special instructions will be given to the players.
Spokesman Brian McCarthy said: “We have always encouraged everyone — players, coaches and fans — at our games to stand for the national anthem.
“The standard announcement will be made encouraging everyone to ‘please rise’.
“Nothing different will be asked of our fans or players than during any other game. We are approaching this like we have our other games.”
Superbowl stat pack
- If the the Patriots win on Sunday, Bill Belichick & Tom Brady will have twice as many playoff wins as any other head coach/starting quarterback combination in NFL history.
- Entering SuperBowl Lll, Tom Brady has played in 7 Super Bowls in his career, as many as the entire Eagles roster combined (7)
- Entering Super Bowl LII, the Patriots have 404 games of combined playoff experience, while the Eagles have 164 such games.
- Bill Belichick will take part in his 11th Super Bowl as a head coach or assistant, the most among any coach in NFL history. That amounts to 21.2% of all Super Bowls in NFL history and 34.4% of all Super Bowls since his first appearance as the Giants defensive coordinator in 1986.