The NFL players' protest against social injustice continued on the opening day of the new season as three Miami Dolphins players made physical statements during the national anthem in Miami Gardens, Florida, where their team hosted the Tennessee Titans.
Wide receivers Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson knelt during The Star-Spangled Banner while defensive end Robert Quinn raised his fist.
The former 49ers’ QB Colin Kaepernick, who initiated the movement and was recently made the face of a Nike advertising campaign, took to social media to offer his support.
"My Brothers @kstills and @ithinkisee12 continue to show their unwavering strength by fighting for the oppressed! They have not backed down, even when attacked and intimidated. Love is at the root of our resistance."
There were raised fists elsewhere in the league during the anthem, while other players remained in the tunnel while it played out.
Aaron Rodgers has recently signed a deal to extend his time at Green Bay with an eye-bulging envelope attached and it may have given him an even stronger sense of duty to the cause then he had held previously.
The Packers QB left Lambeau Field injured in the first half of their season opener with Midwestern rivals the Chicago Bears and hobbled out in the second half with his side facing a 20-0 uphill climb.
The 34-year-old put in a 286-yard, three TD effort that dragged his side to a 23-24 to their newly-improved foes. Have a look at perhaps the best of those three feat. one Randall Cobb.
The Cleveland Browns might have snapped their 17-game losing streak with a tie but it’ll feel like more of a loss as that elusive W trickled away from them in the most quintessentially Browns way possible.
In a game played in desperate conditions in Ohio, the Steelers took them all the way to the last seconds of overtime despite Ben Roethlisberger's ineptitude.
A 43-yard field goal attempt was to be the last play of the game but Zane Gonzalez saw his effort blocked and Cleveland’s lengthy winless run continues.
As all the action unfolded across the US last night one or two couched spectators that were surely more involved than most watched on. The erstwhile Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant was keen to stick the boot into the team that released him after their loss to the Carolina.
After his former QB Dak Prescott suffered one sack after another at the hands of the Panthers D-line, he didn’t show a great deal of sympathy for his former colleagues. He did, though, give a bit of insight into what it's like watching the Cowboys from the role of a fan for a change.
The Lions and the Jets play just after midnight tonight, followed by the all-Cali affair of the Raiders vs. the Rams in the last pair of ties in Week 1.
The Lions and the Jets play just after midnight tonight, followed by the all-Cali affair of the Raiders vs. the Rams in the last pair of ties in Week 1.
