Lions' Matthew Stafford: Kneeling for Anthem Felt Like Right Thing at Right Time

Matthew Stafford said his decision to kneel during the national anthem ahead of a Week 1 contest against the Chicago Bears was the result of an offseason spent listening and learning from his teammates.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the quarterback noted it "just felt like it was the right thing at the right time."

Stafford previously stood for the anthem when several Lions players took a knee in 2017 and explained his changing views this week.

"Obviously, it's been an amazing offseason for me personally, for our team, for a lot of people," Stafford said. "There's been a great opportunity for growth and learning and understanding, and just felt like it was the right thing for me, as certain guys on our team felt like the right thing was standing, certain guys felt like the right thing for them was being in the locker room. We support each other. We know where everybody stands in our locker room. We love each other and support each other and that's that."

The action is the latest move from Stafford and his family to help support social justice initiatives after originally opting against participating in the protest against systemic racism and police brutality started by then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in 2016.

Stafford's wife Kelly wrote an Instagram post last month in which she apologized for "not listening" to the message behind the demonstration:

"When Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem, I had strong feelings about it. Even when he kept saying it had nothing to do with the flag or military, I didn't listen. I kept not listening to him or anyone else and let the political rhetoric persuade me that him kneeling was disrespectful to our military.

"Over the past several months, I have opened my ears, mind, and heart and it has opened my eyes to see how wrong I was and for that I am sorry.

"This systematic racism is not going away unless we ALL work on it by working on ourselves and those around us. It's time for everyone to do their part to help end this system."

The Stafford family also donated $350,000 to the University of Georgia's athletic department to endow a social justice program on campus.