DETROIT -- Ameer Abdullah headlined a group of eight Detroit Lions players who kneeled in protest during the national anthem before Sunday's showdown against the Atlanta Falcons.
Starters like Tahir Whitehead and A'Shawn Robinson joined him, along with reserves Cornelius Washington, Akeem Spence, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Steve Longa and Jeremiah Ledbetter.
President Rod Wood said before the game that players would have the support of the franchise if they wished to protest president Donald Trump, who has called players who protest the anthem a "son of a (expletive)." And he wasn't kidding.
Rod Wood: Players have Lions' support if they want to protest
Multiple players told MLive there was talk throughout the locker room on Saturday of making some kind of a team-wide protest before Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons.