NFL Player: There's 'Gonna Be An Uproar' If Players Are Forced To Stand

Speaking on Adam Schefter’s Know Them From Adam podcast, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Gerald McCoy responded to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s letter to all 32 teams that stated he wants players to stand for the national anthem, saying there’s “gonna be an uproar” if Goodell’s dictum is obeyed.

McCoy, who has no plans to kneel during the anthem, warned, "I don't think guys are gonna like it. I think it's gonna be an uproar if that is to happen because you're basically taking away a constitutional right to freedom of speech. If guys wanna have a, I guess you would call it a peaceful protest, I don't think it's right to take that away." He added:

I had two teammates who did it, in Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson. That's their right to do that. And if they're gonna do it, they're gonna have support of the whole team. But if you take that away from them, there's gonna be an uproar. It's just gonna happen, because now it's just like you have a voice at one point, but then you don't at this point. And, that's our right ... it's a constitutional right that we have, and if you take that away, I don't think people are gonna take too kindly to it.

Goodell stated in his letter that he wanted “such elements as an in-season platform to promote the work of our players on these core issues."

President Trump weighed in with this tweet:

On Wednesday morning, the NFL issued a statement to further elucidate what Goodell wanted. It read:

Commentary this morning about the Commissioner's position on the Anthem is not accurate. As we said yesterday, there will be a discussion of these issues at the Dolphins players, law enforcement and community leaders witnessing first-hand the outstanding work our players and clubs are doing to strengthen their communities. Players from around the league will be in New York next week to meet with owners to continue our work together.

The Dolphins are now requiring players on the field or sideline to stand during the anthem, but players are permitted to remain in the locker room or the tunnel until the anthem is finished.

In late September, McCoy angrily responded to Trump’s calling NFL players who knelt during the anthem, calling them a “son of a bitch.” McCoy vented, "That dude's crazy. No, I don't agree with (anything) he said. I don't think (anybody does) ... It's not the last time he's going to say something stupid. It's very idiotic, what he said. It's retarded. It's very stupid. It's dumb."

McCoy later apologized, saying, "As a man, when you make a mistake, you've got to admit your faults and correct it. With me being a man of God, I made a mistake. ... When I was talking the other day, I called the president 'retarded.' Even though he doesn't make the best decisions, it wasn't my right to say that. Being being a man of God, the first thing I should have said is 'We need to pray for him.'”

He added, "The Bible calls for us to pray for all our leaders, and the Bible also says any leader in a leadership position, God has placed him there, so for me to disrespect him in that manner, I was in the wrong and I can admit that. Instead of me saying that, I retract that statement and say 'Let's just pray for our country and pray for our president.' That's what I should have said. I made a mistake in saying that."