Dontari Poe becomes first Cowboys player to kneel during national anthem before SNF kickoff vs. Rams

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Cowboys defensive tackle Dontari Poe became the first Cowboys player to kneel during the national anthem before Sunday night’s season opener against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Assistant defensive line coach Leon Lett, defensive tackle Antwaun Woods and defensive end Aldon Smith stood near Poe and placed their hands on his shoulders.

At least 15 Rams players took a knee during the anthem. Poe said after he was signed by the Cowboys in the offseason that he would take a knee. He said he planned to speak with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about his intentions, but it’s unclear if that conversation took place.

The entire Cowboys team stood in the end zone at attention during the playing of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” while two Rams players, offensive lineman David Edwards and linebacker Micah Kiser, stood at the opposite end zone. The remaining Rams players were in the locker room during the song.

The NFL elected to add the playing of the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” referred to as the Black national anthem, before the “Star-Spangled Banner” this season.

During pregame warmups, some Cowboys staffers wore grey T-shirts that said, “We All Bleed The Same Color” on the front and “It Takes All Of Us” on the back. One of those staffers was wide receivers coach Adam Henry.

Several Rams players and coaches wore black T-shirts that read “It Takes All of Us” on the front.

Across the NFL on Sunday, protests included teams staying in locker rooms and players and coaches taking a knee or raising a fist during the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Seven teams stayed in their locker rooms when both songs played, including the Philadelphia Eagles, a division rival of the Cowboys.

At least five players, led by quarterback Dwayne Haskins from the Washington Football Team, raised a fist during the national anthem. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson took a knee as the anthem played. Indianapolis Colts coach Frank Reich knelt before his game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Minnesota Vikings welcomed the family of George Floyd, a Black man who was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Before the Atlanta Falcons-Seattle Seahawks game, the Falcons paid tribute to the late civil rights icon John Lewis, who was named an honorary captain. Falcons players wore black T-shirts during warmups with one of Lewis’ famous quotes: “The Vote is the most powerful, nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society.” The back of the T-shirts read, “Rise up & Vote.”

As the opening kickoff sailed through the end zone, players from the Falcons and Seahawks took a knee for about 10 seconds.

Social justice issues came to the forefront of the NFL in 2016 when San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick began taking a knee during the national anthem. Numerous NFL players followed suit, with the exception of any Cowboys players

During the 2017 season, more players became vocal about social injustices and began protesting racism and other ills against people of color by taking a knee or raising a fist. Players said the protests were was not against the flag or the military.

Jones, however, was against kneeling, preferring his players to stand for the anthem to respect the flag.

Before a 2016 Monday Night Football game in Arizona, Jones asked his players to compromise and take a knee before the playing of the national anthem. Jones, joined by his two sons and daughter, locked arms with his players and took a knee before the anthem was played as fans booed.

Jones and the rest of the players and coaches then stood as the anthem played.

The issue hasn’t gone away for the Cowboys with Jones saying in 2018, “our policy is that you stand at the anthem, toe on the line.”

The death of Floyd in May sparked pro athletes again to become vocal about police brutality and systemic racism.

Jones said his stance hasn’t changed, and in a video conference call with reporters before the start of training camp, he asked for everyone to exhibit grace.

“I have nothing to prove as far as where I stand with the flag,” Jones said. “I have nothing to prove as far as where I stand with support of my players. What I do want to show and want all of us to be a part of is a word I called grace. Grace not only in our actions but in our understanding.”

On Aug. 23, a video of police in Kenosha, Wis., shooting Jacob Blake, a Black man, seven times in the back again raised pro athletes’ ire about excessive force by police officers. Games in the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL and MLS were postponed in protest of the killing.

It also prompted Cowboys players and Jones to address the issue of kneeling during the anthem to protest police brutality.

As training camp progressed, players evolved from saying they wanted to voice their concerns as a team to eventually defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford indicating players were given a “green light” to express themselves during a protest.

Quarterback Dak Prescott said players should protest freely.

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