Tennessee Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews said on Tuesday that he will continue to kneel for the national anthem until President Trump apologizes for remarks made on Friday at an Alabama rally which ripped NFL players who have chosen to protest and appeared to single out quarterback Colin Kaepernick as a “son of a bitch”.
“I plan to kneel until the president apologizes for the comments that he made, because I felt like those were very disrespectful comments,” Matthews said Tuesday during an appearance on ESPN’s NFL Live. “The league is made up of I think over 70% of African Americans so the people that would be kneeling for this cause would be African Americans.
“To keep it honest, he was calling a lot of us and he was calling me an SOB and that’s not OK and very disrespectful. So, I plan to kneel until the president apologizes.”
Matthews, a fifth-year wideout in his first season with the Titans, punctuated his pre-game protest when he celebrated a 55-yard touchdown reception with a Black Power salute against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
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(@NFLonFOX)Rishard Matthews raised his fist in the air after scoring a 55-yard TD pic.twitter.com/NHrk2zpFQs
Hailing from a military family, with a father who served 23 years in the Marines and a brother who died while serving in Afghanistan, Matthews said he initially felt conflicted by using the anthem as a mode of protest.
No longer.
“I’m tired of hearing stick to sports. It comes down to right and wrong in this world,” Matthews said following Sunday’s game, when both the Titans and Seahawks decided to stay in their respective locker rooms for the anthem.
He added: “If you see wrong and don’t say anything that’s wrong. As minorities, what do you want to happen before we say anything? They tried to have a silent protest and look what happened. It’s your right to stand or sit down. You have that right, that freedom of speech, and you’re not allowing that to happen.”
“We’re not ragdogs. We’re people just like you.”