It's been a monumental day in the NFL.
Starting with the game between Jacksonville and Baltimore in Wembley, players, coaching staff and owners have come together during the pre-match national anthems in a bid to stand up against oppression.
The mass demonstrations came off the back of Donald Trump's comments earlier this week, when speaking about players taking a knee or protesting during the anthem.
Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired. You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s going to say, ‘That guy that disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it [but] they’ll be the most popular person in this country.
Numerous owners decided to publicly support their players on the sidelines. Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan previously donated to Trump's presidential campaign, while New York Jets owner Woody Johnson also linked arms with some players. Johnson is Trump's Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Unity pic.twitter.com/wSNsc4BSEV
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 24, 2017
Unity. pic.twitter.com/puD77lwORk
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 24, 2017
Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Arthur Blank stood with our players during the national anthem. pic.twitter.com/djo8G7czLv
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 24, 2017
The Pittsburgh Steelers took the most notable stance. Head coach Mike Tomlin announced before the match, that none of the players would be on the sidelines during the pre-match festivities in Soldier Field in Chicago.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reveals to @JamieErdahl that the team will not be participating in today's national anthem. pic.twitter.com/5zihPWQsMv
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 24, 2017
Mike Tomlin. No players behind him. pic.twitter.com/GYR0M4EyvR
— Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) September 24, 2017
Pittsburgh player Alejandro Villanueva stood at the tunnel during the anthem before his team took to the field. Villanueva served in Afghanistan in the US Army.
The Steelers remained inside, but LT and army vet Alejandro Villanueva stood alone outside of the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/vMyElAajCp
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) September 24, 2017
Other teams such as the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints saw numerous players take and knee, link arms ore even sit down during the anthem.
Love. Unity. Equality. #GoBills pic.twitter.com/tvlIqSc4tP
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 24, 2017
Ahead of the game in Detroit between the Lions and the Atlanta Falcons, Rico Lavelle took a knee when he entered the final words of the anthem.
Solid move for the singer to take a knee at the end of our anthem in Detroit. #TakeAKneeNFL #DetroitAnthem pic.twitter.com/2Opb8beBdX
— Mark Niemi (@TheNFLDraftGuru) September 24, 2017
While today's games will be remembered for a long time, the remaining remaining 14 weeks of the season could be dominated by what happens before the kick-off.
