For much of the 2018 NFL season, the National Anthem issue died down considerably as reporters started to cover it less and less, but that doesn’t mean players stopped participating in the protest.
Miami Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn still stayed strong in the protest by raising his fist before every game to show solidarity with former NFL QB Colin Kaepernick. Only problem with Quinn is that he wasn’t getting the coverage from it that he liked.
Quinn lashed out at reporters in December for the lack of coverage.
“Y’all ignore it. Because when I gave my first message on trying to bring unity, y’all swept it under the rug. It’s not me. When you don’t give a problematic story, y’all just ran away,” Quinn said.
“You’ve got this lady named Cyntoia Brown, or whatever her name is, and you sent her to life in prison because she was being sex trafficked,” he said, referencing a woman who was sentenced to life in prison for a murder she committed when she was 16. “But yet you guys dipped.”
On Thursday, Quinn was traded to the Dallas Cowboys and many begaqn to wonder shortly after of what would happen during the 2019 season in regards to the Anthem.
That question was posed by Cowboys writer Clarence Hill Jr. a few days before the trade would become official:
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Quinn has his stance, but owner Jerry Jones has made his stance clear, especially during the 2018 season when he threatened his players with being benched if they did anything to disrespect the National Anthem, whether that be kneeling or raising a fist.
Asked whether Cowboys players will stand at attention for the anthem, Stephen Jones pretty much echoed his father when he said, “If they want to be a Dallas Cowboy, yes.”
“We certainly are supportive of them when they have their personal issues or their personal things that they want to pursue,” Stephen Jones said last July. “And we’ll help them pursue them on Tuesdays. But when you’re wearing the Dallas Cowboy uniform and a Dallas Cowboy helmet and you’re working for the Dallas Cowboys, you check the ‘I’ and the ‘me’ at the door and you’re a part of a team. There’s bright lines in terms of our organization.”
What remains to be seen is if Quinn will switch it up and adhere to the Cowboys’ policy going forward. One would think that conversation might’ve already happened after he received a 1-year deal from the team.
