Seattle Seahawks players Mike Tyson and Neiko Thorpe were met with a volley of abuse by a woman angry at last season’s anthem protests … despite the fact that Tyson had no part in the protests.
Thorpe shared the incident, which happened as they arrived for training, on Twitter. The woman told the players to “Stand up and be a man” and “Get off your little fucking knees and … represent the [country] that made you what you are.”
Neiko Thorpe
(@Neiko15)Sound up 🔊🔊🔊 pic.twitter.com/HsHEeKLfJ8
She also had her say on the source of the players’ income. “All I care about is that my tax dollars pay for you to play and go fucking play and get off your fucking knees.” The NFL and teams raise the vast majority of their revenue from fans, sponsors and broadcasters rather than the government although local taxes are sometimes used to help build stadiums. The military also pays the league to promote the armed forces before games. Thorpe earned $1.6m last season, meaning he paid a sizable chunk of his own income in taxes.
When the players, who appear bemused rather than angered by the incident, asked the woman for her name she refused and directed additional colorful language their way.
Tyson would have found it tough to protest before NFL games last season – he didn’t make a single appearance for the Seahawks. Thorpe appeared in 14 games but it is unclear whether he joined team-mates such as Michael Bennett and Sheldon Richardson who sat or knelt during the anthem to protest racial injustice in the United States.