Saints Kneel for Coin Toss; Dolphins, Saints Stand, Kneel for Anthem in London

The New Orleans Saints took a knee during the coin toss prior to their game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday morning in London before standing during the national anthem, per Doug Mouton of WWL-TV:

Three Dolphins chose to kneel during the anthem, meanwhile, according to sports broadcaster Emma Saunders:

The Saints' display followed protests and demonstrations around the NFL last week, when players from teams knelt, raised their fists, locked arms or didn't take the field at all. Many owners and coaches joined the demonstrations, which came after President Donald Trump suggested that any players who knelt during the anthem should be kicked off the field by NFL owners and lose their jobs.

Before last week's game, 10 Saints—including Adrian Peterson—sat on the bench. Many Dolphins stood with arms locked before last week's game, while some players knelt and a number wore #ImWithKap T-shirts while warming up before the contest.

Kneeling before the game as a form of protest began with Colin Kaepernick during the 2016 NFL preseason, when the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback initially sat before choosing to kneel in protest of police brutality and racial inequality.

Detractors of that particular brand of protest have argued it's disrespectful to the flag and military.

"People were complaining about the platform we're using," Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro said Friday, per Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate. "That's the only platform that's going to get attention. If I start doing it in the street, no one is going to pay attention to me. But if you do it to the anthem, and you're not disrespecting the anthem, people are going to watch. People are tuning in now to see what we're going to do and not watch the game. Don't get the two confused."