The NFL season started Thursday night and the national anthem protests continued. Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall took a knee during the national anthem before the game against the Carolina Panthers.
Marshall went down on one knee just before the anthem and remained kneeling until the song was finished. He has supported San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was Marshall's teammate in college and has opted to not stand during the national anthem. He said that he felt it was the right thing to do and he will continue to do it as the season goes on, according to ESPN.
All of the other players on both teams were standing during the anthem.
"I'm not against the military, police or America. I'm against social injustice," Marshall said. "I think the more people do it, the more it's seen -- there's going to be hate mail, hate comments, but at the same time, people will talk about it. Some people are going to stand by me, some people aren't. But I know my loved ones, the people that love me and care about me, they're going to stand behind me, and that's all that matters to me.”
According to NFL.com, Marshall is the third player to not stand during the anthem since Kaepernick started sitting during the anthem. Eric Reid of the 49ers didn’t stand for the anthem during the final preseason game and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane sat on the bench last week.
Fans reacted to Marshall kneeling during the anthem via Twitter.
blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
@BMarshh54 you are a punk
— peterhayw (@peterhayw) September 9, 2016
Some fans got confused and were incorrect as they directed their anger at the more famous Brandon Marshall of the New York Jets instead of Brandon Marshall of the Broncos.
One fan pointed out the confusion that people were tweeting at the wrong Brandon Marshall.
The Broncos won the game 21-20.