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Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall first took a knee during the national anthem prior to the Week 1 Thursday Night Football matchup between Denver and the Carolina Panthers. Before the Broncos’ Sunday Night Football game against the Oakland Raiders, Marshall announced via his Instagram account that he will resume standing for the national anthem.
“Going forward, I will be standing for the national anthem — not because everything is perfect, or because I'm changing my stance on things,” Marshall said. “But because of my hope for what we can become.”
When Marshall began his protest, he made it clear that it he was simply taking a stand against social injustice.
"I'm not against the military. I'm not against the police or America," Marshall said, according to Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post. "I'm against social injustice."
In Marshall’s Instagram statement about his decision to resume standing for the anthem, he said he will continue to work to support organizations that are making a difference in their communities. He identified the Idriss Stelley Foundation, which offers free support to victims of police violence in the Bay Area, as one such organization.
Marshall said that when he stands for the anthem on Sunday, it will be in support of the work of the foundation.
“I’ll be standing for them and the family of the late O’Shaine Evans — on Sunday night in addition to making a donation from my Tackle Change program to further the meaningful work of this group,” Marshall said in his statement.
Evans was a 26-year-old man who was shot and killed by San Francisco police in 2014.
Marshall joined San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began the movement during the preseason.
"I'll continue to sit," Kaepernick said. "I'm going to continue to stand with the people that are being oppressed. To me, this is something that has to change.”
While Marshall’s protest will be ending, Kaepernick and other athletes continue their protest of social injustice by kneeling during the national anthem.