Rodney Anderson will ‘definitely be kneeling’ during national anthem this season

Now that NFL football is officially happening this year, we should expect to see numerous players around the league protest racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Rodney Anderson told WCPO’s Laurel Pfahler he will indeed be one of those players.

“I’ll definitely be kneeling,” Anderson said. “I feel like there’s a big issue and that issue is unarmed Black people being killed by law enforcement officers unjustly. I am 100% behind the kneeling movement. I don’t want to call it for anybody else, but you know, with all the things that have come to light, it would be hard to think that not a lot of people would be,” Anderson said.

The last two months have seen surges in protests against police brutality and racial injustice, giving credence to the efforts of former NFL player and current activist Colin Kaepernick. Recent events sparked conversations amongst sports clubs of all kinds. The Bengals were no exception, as they held an open discussion on pressing topics earlier this offseason.

“I feel like that was really constructive,” Anderson said of the meetings. “As far as the coaches are concerned, I feel like they’re with us.”

Anderson’s just the first Bengal to proclaim his intentions for this season. With more expected to follow, a repeat of 2017, when Mike Brown urged players not to kneel during the anthem, doesn’t seem likely.