NFL's Week 4 sees players kneel, raise fists during national anthem

Miami Dolphins players kneeling during "The Star-Spangled Banner" on Sunday in London.  (Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs)

A handful of NFL players kneeled during the national anthem before the early games of Week 4 Sunday, but many more athletes stood, a day after President Trump tweeted that it that it was "very important" for players to stand.

Last week more than 200 players knelt after Trump lashed out at athletes who protest the national anthem before games.

Three Miami Dolphins players knelt before their NFL game in London: Julius Thomas, Michael Thomas and Kenny Stills.

The Dolphins played the New Orleans Saints, who won 20-0. Saints players stood locking arms, having knelt as a team shortly before the anthem, Reuters reported.

After the game, Saints coach Sean Payton praised his team for the show of solidarity.

"It's a credit to our leadership on the team, and we just felt like they were going to meet and spend some time on it and come up with a plan and we were going to be really unified and I thought it went really well. I was proud of the leadership on the team,'' he said.

Several players on the Buffalo Bills knelt, including star running back LeSean McCoy.

Houston Texans' Jurrell Casey, Wesley Woodyard, Brian Orakpo and DaQuan Jones raised a fist while Tennessee wide receiver Rishard Matthews was not on the field for the anthem. He came out of the tunnel after it ended. Nine Cleveland Browns players, including LB Christian Kirksey, raised their right arms with closed fists.

Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Robert Quinn also raised his right fist before the Rams-Cowboys game. Punter Johnny Hekker had his arm around him.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, as promised, stood on the sideline during the national anthem after watching from the tunnel last week in Chicago. With the exception of center Ryan Jensen and guard Matt Skura, the Baltimore Ravens all took a knee on the field before the national anthem and received boos from many in the crowd. The team then stood on the sideline after the music started.

The Dallas Cowboys returned to their usual pregame configuration: all standing along their sideline, but without arms linked. Last week Dallas kneeled in unison before "The Star-Spangled Banner" then stood, arms linked, for the song.

Two members of the Detroit Lions—Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Steve Longa—knelt during the national anthem, The New York Times reported.

The New England Patriots stood with their right hands over their hearts, and their left hands on their teammate's shoulders, the paper reported.

Ahead of the games on Saturday, Trump doubled down on his call for NFL players to stand during the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" in a tweet.

"Very important that NFL players STAND tomorrow, and always, for the playing of our National Anthem. Respect our Flag and our Country!" Trump wrote.

Protesting during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" began last season when Colin Kaepernick, then a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers, declined to stand as a way to bring attention to police treatment of blacks and to social injustice.

During a fiery speech at a political rally in Alabama on Sept. 22, Trump called for NFL owners to fire players who engaged in such a protest. In the days that followed, the president issued a series of tweets reiterating his views and calling for a boycott of games by fans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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