Before Colin Kaepernick, one NFL player silently protested the national anthem, and it was closer to the time that Tommie Smith and John Carlos made their protest, than to when Kaepernick made his.
But David Meggyesy, former linebacker, activist author and players' union executive, was alone among players back in 1968. Kaepernick has now been joined by a teammate, a fellow NFL player and, notably, U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe last weekend.
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"That’s wonderful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Good for those guys," Meggyesy told Sporting News last weekend, upon hearing of the 49ers’ Eric Reid and the Seahawks’ Jeremy Lane also kneeling and sitting, respectively, before their games.