Hue Jackson Says He Hopes Browns Players Won't Sit for National Anthem

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson expressed Monday his desire to see Browns players stand for the playing of the national anthem before games. 

"The national anthem means a lot," he said, as tweeted by Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. "I hope that won't happen here (someone sitting)."

Jackson also said every player has the right to protest during "The Star-Spangled Banner," per the Akron Beacon Journal's Nate Ulrich.

Colin Kaepernick first brought the topic to the forefront when he sat down as the national anthem played before a San Francisco 49ers preseason game.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick said to NFL Network's Steve Wyche. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

Kaepernick later chose to take a knee rather than sit during the anthem. Some NFL players followed in Kaepernick's footsteps, either taking a knee or raising a fist before games.

The movement will likely carry into the 2017 season as well. Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sat down during the national anthem prior to his team's 20-10 preseason defeat to the Arizona Cardinals last Saturday.

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The News Tribune's Gregg Bell showed Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett remaining on the bench as his team prepared for an eventual 48-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday:

ESPN's Darren Rovell reported in July that J.D. Power conducted a poll among over 9,200 sports fans who attended at least one football, basketball or hockey game.

Twelve percent of the respondents had watched fewer NFL games in 2016 compared to the previous season. Of that group, 24 percent said the national anthem protests were the reason their NFL viewing had declined—the most frequent reason expressed in the poll—meaning about three percent of the overall fans polled said protests led to them watching fewer games.