Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins has been one of the leading voices among NFL players about social activism, and he's not amused by the league's recent memo.
After Roger Goodell sent a letter to players stating "everyone should stand for the national anthem," Jenkins responded Tuesday, letting the league know its suggestion isn't going to scare anyone.
"I think we've seen even over the last year that you can take a player out of the league, you can threaten to do whatever you want to do, that's not going to deter players from doing what's right, or doing what they believe is right," Jenkins said Tuesday, according to ESPN's Tim McManus. "You might be able to change the manner in which that looks but I don't see players stopping their pursuit for justice or equality."
Along with Tuesday's suggestion, the NFL will reportedly consider a policy change to mandate players to stand for the anthem.
Jenkins said players have had open dialogue with some owners and Goodell so they should know players will continue to use their platform to attempt to make change. If the league decides to mandate how players act during the anthem, Jenkins would be in disagreement, though he said it wouldn't stop players.
"I think that would be an unfortunate decision if (forcing players to stand is) all that came out of it, if there was no effort to replace the platform that guys have been using to draw attention to issues in our country," said Jenkins. "If there is no effort to assist players in that, I think it would be very, very unfortunate, and I don't think that would go over well.
"I don't think this would stop anybody from trying to push for change, push for justice. Players have always kind of moved around, found new ways."
