Brandon Marshall Unfazed by Loss of Sponsorships, will Continue to Protest National Anthem
Since Colin Kaepernick took a seat on the bench during the playing of the National Anthem, players around the NFL have been generally supportive, with many mimicking the San Francisco 49ers quarterback’s protest.
Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall is among those joining the movement. Marshall took a knee during the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the NFL regular season kickoff on Thursday Night Football against the Carolina Panthers. Marshall was the only player to protest during the Super Bowl 50 rematch.
As a result, Marshall has been hit with an outpour of both criticism and support (depending on your opinion on the matter). He has also been hit financially, with two sponsors cutting ties with the linebacker.
Shortly after the Broncos win, Air Academy Federal Credit Union terminated their sponsorship of Marshall. Given that their shareholders are retired men and women of the service, Marshall most likely wasn’t surprised.
Marshall may have been a little more off-put by his loss of communications company CenturyLink.
“I just lost another endorsement,” said Marshall, breaking the news. “But it’s not going to make me lose any sleep…I understand there will be things that come up, criticism, and support. I just have to do what I think is right.”
In their official statement, CenturyLink defended Marshall’s right to protest while at the same time expressing their belief that the National Anthem is one of those times when we must stand together in unity as a country.
Despite the pushback, Marshall plans to continue to take a knee during the National Anthem and insists that many in the military support him.
“A lot of it is military based because I read a lot of the comments that say, ‘stay up for the people that fought for your right to stand,’” said Marshall, explaining his situation on social media. “But then the people that I talk to that are in the military say, ‘I fought for your right to stand or sit, I fought for all your rights, so I support you.’ Everybody doesn’t believe that, but some people who actually serve this country do believe that.”
As I said when Kaepernick initially made his stance, get ready to hear about this for a while.