This is certainly a randomly interesting development for the weekend. On Saturday evening during the Oakland Raiders preseason game with the Arizona Cardinals, Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch was seated during the National Anthem.
Lynch was not available to the media after the game, and so we did not hear why he did what he did. Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said Lynch told him it is something he has done for 11 years. However, Mike Garafolo and Pro Football Talk found photos and video showing him standing at times.
Lynch was retired from the NFL last year, and so there was not an opportunity for him to join Colin Kaepernick’s Anthem protest. However, he came out strongly in support of Kaepernick during an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s TBS show.
Del Rio said it was not a protest, but there is some conflicting information out there. For the time being, we’ll have to wait and see when Lynch offers up more information. In the meantime, it’s safe to say there will be plenty of chatter about the situation.