RantCrush Top 5: August 14, 2017

On Saturday, the Oakland Raiders played a preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, and Oakland’s Marshawn Lynch was criticized for sitting down during the national anthem. Lynch was seen sitting on a cooler, eating a banana, while his teammates were standing. Given that this was Saturday, many on social media assumed it was a silent protest in response to the violence in Charlottesville. But Lynch claimed he has been sitting down during the anthem for over a decade. “This is something I’ve done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself,” Raiders coach Jack Del Rio quoted Lynch as saying after the game.

However, several sources later pointed out that he definitely stood during the anthem in the past. Lynch also offered his support for Colin Kaepernick last season. “My take on it is sh*t has to start somewhere,” he said at the time. And many pointed out how hypocritical it is to be upset at Lynch, given the violence in Charlottesville this weekend.

If I were a black man in a country that allows rampant racism to go unchecked and unpunished I’d sit during the anthem, too. #marshawnlynch

— Chelsea Bradley (@_ChelseaChelsea) August 13, 2017

Right now Marshawn Lynch is the only black man in the NFL I can respect. Talk is cheap! #marshawnlynch #NFLPreseason2017

— The Freedom Fighter (@RealMLButler) August 13, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.