RENTON, Wash. (AP) – Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that he supported Michael Bennett’s decision to sit during the national anthem while also saying he believes players should stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Bennett’s actions were a primary topic of conversation for Carroll two days after Bennett sat on the bench during the anthem before the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Chargers. Bennett didn’t inform Carroll or his teammates of his decision to sit while the rest of the Seahawks stood locked arm-in-arm on the sideline Sunday.
“It’s easy for me to support him in his issues. But I think we should all be standing up when we’re playing the national anthem,” Carroll said.
Bennett said after the game that the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, including the death of a woman who was struck by a car deliberately driven into a group of counter-protesters, solidified his decision.
“I can appreciate a man that no matter what the circumstances are, no matter what people are going to think, no matter what people are going to say, his morals and what he thinks is right to him, he’s going to stand up for it,” teammate Cliff Avril said.