Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, in response to a Twitter user who predicted that Watt won’t be taking a knee during the anthem, made two comments. First, he said “don’t speak for me.” Second, Watt said “if you still think it’s about disrespecting the flag or our military, you clearly haven’t been listening.”
For as obvious as the point is becoming, there are still people (including those in high public office) who conflate kneeling with disrespect. Plenty of them have chimed in with responses to Watt’s tweet. Still, the more those people hear that kneeling isn’t disrespect (especially from prominent white players), the more likely it will be that they will change their thinking.
Yesterday Watt’s coach, Bill O’Brien said “Yeah, I’ll take a knee. I’m all for it,”
Bill O’Brien will take a knee for national anthem: I’m all for it
The Texans’ coach, who doubles as the General Manager, decided the time was right to speak up about his feelings and the team’s stance. Team chairman Cal McNair isn’t sitting quietly either, having participated in conversations with players and promising to do whatever he can to help.
“When you think about how big the issue is, if we can help make a little change in Houston, maybe it’ll be like a pebble in the pond that creates a ripple,” McNair told McClain. “What happened to George Floyd brought to life something that’s bigger than football, and you can’t ignore it. We felt like we couldn’t stay silent. We felt like we had to say and do something. We want to help make changes.
Yesterday Watt’s coach, Bill O’Brien said “Yeah, I’ll take a knee. I’m all for it,”
If there’s anyone else out there that doesn’t understand why Colin Kaepernick took a knee, read this:
Eric Reid: Why Colin Kaepernick and I Decided to Take a Knee
