Roger Goodell Calls Anthem 'Special Moment,' but Understands 'The Other Side'

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered a diplomatic response when asked about the national anthem protest some NFL players engage in prior to games.

"It's one of those things where we have to understand that there are people who have different viewpoints," Goodell said Monday at an event for Arizona Cardinals season-ticket holders, per ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss. "It's something that I think everybody wants. The national anthem is a special moment for me. It's a point of pride. That is a really important moment but we also have to understand the other side—that people do have rights, and we want to respect those."

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett and Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch remained seated during the national anthem before preseason games for their respective teams.

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio spoke to Lynch and said the act had been a part of the five-time Pro Bowler's pregame routine for years.

"[Lynch] said, 'This is something I've done for 11 years. It's not a form of anything other than me being myself,'" Del Rio said, per ESPN.com's Paul Gutierrez. "I said, 'So you understand how I feel. I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem, but I'm going to respect you as a man. You do your thing, and we'll do ours.' So that's a non-issue for me."

Bennett, on the other hand, didn't leave any doubt he was attempting to send a political message, per Travis Pittman of King 5 News and Lindsey Wisniewski of The Seahawks Wire:

"I want to be able to use this platform to continuously push the message ... of how unselfish you can be as a society. How we can continuously love one another and understand that people are different, and just because they're different, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't like them. Because they don't smell the way you smell and they don't eat what you eat, because they don't pray to the same god that you pray to, doesn't mean that you should hate them."

Lynch and Bennett were following in the footsteps of Colin Kaepernick, who began sitting down during the national anthem before San Francisco 49ers preseason games. Kaepernick changed tactic and began taking a knee as part of the protest.

ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reported in July about a poll conducted by J.D. Power in which they asked about the viewing habits of over 9,200 fans who had attended at least one football, basketball or hockey game.

A little over 1,100 people said they had watched less football in 2016 than they did the year before, and of that group, roughly 287 people said the national anthem protests were the biggest reason for the decline.