For more of Lester Holt’s interview with Malcolm Jenkins, tune in tonight to “NBC Nightly News.”
Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins first raised his fist during Week 2 of the 2016 season. It was his version of the protest ignited weeks earlier by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who decided to sit and later kneel during the national anthem to protest police brutality and other issues.
“At the end of the day, I’m fighting for people,” Jenkins told NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt. “I’m fighting for Americans and citizens that have been disenfranchised, that have been systemically oppressed for centuries.”
The nine-year NFL veteran has repeatedly emphasized that his and other players’ acts of protest were not against the military, the American flag or the national anthem itself – but about starting a productive conversation and working to address social justice issues across the country.
The players’ explanations did not stop the protests from becoming highly politicized. Nearly one year after the protests began, the issue exploded when President Donald Trump began to voice his strong opposition to the practice on social media and at his rallies.
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Trump called the players’ protest disrespectful to the flag and suggested that NFL owners fire players who refuse to stand during the national anthem.
At a September 2017 rally in Alabama, he described any player who chose to protest during the anthem as a “son of a b**ch.”
The president’s comments did not phase Jenkins. Like other players, he responded by taking action. His first goal was to create dialogue and figure out how to help build a more trusting relationship between communities of color and the police.
So he met with members of the Philadelphia Police Department and did a ‘ride-along.’
“I’m not afraid of a tough conversation,” Jenkins said. “But I wanted to get an understanding of what their challenges [are] and how do they view this issue, if they even see [the protests] as an issue.”
Later in the 2017 season, Jenkins and retired NFL wide receiver Anquan Boldin founded the Players Coalition, a group of around 40 NFL players focused on criminal justice reform issues within communities across the U.S.
Its members convinced the NFL to agree to donate at least $89 million to projects dedicated to criminal justice reform and community outreach.