CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with client Emmanuel Sanders.
Sanders was one of 32 Broncos players who knelt during the national anthem Sunday in response to President Donald Trump’s comments that NFL owners should fire players who protested the anthem.
“Our understanding is that the decision to kneel was a team decision, rather than an individual decision,” CenturyLink said in a statement to The Denver Post. “We spoke with Emmanuel and expressed our concern regarding not standing during the national anthem to properly pay respect and gratitude to those who have fought, and many who have died, to serve our great nation and protect the freedom we all enjoy. He indicated he participated in the protest to show team unity and that it was a one-time occurrence.”
Broncos and Bills players were among the hundreds across the league who knelt Sunday and Monday in protest following the president’s inflammatory remarks. Broncos head coach Vance Joseph addressed Trump’s comments in a team meeting Saturday evening. The dozens of players who took a knee decided to do so before kickoff, but some stood, some raised their fist and some placed their hand on the shoulders of teammates who knelt.
“We decided to take a knee, it didn’t have anything to do with what the flag meant to me, it had absolutely nothing to do with that,” Sanders said after the game. “It’s the fact that our president is sitting up there saying words that he shouldn’t be using and calling guys’ words that he shouldn’t be using because you’re the leader of the United States. That’s just not right. I decided to take a knee on that. … He shouldn’t be treating guys like that if you’re standing up for a cause that they believe in.”
CenturyLink was one of two companies, along with Air Academy Federal Credit Union, that dropped Marshall after his first game of protesting last year. Marshall was the only Broncos player to take a knee during the anthem last season and he did so for seven games. He stood for the final four games he played because, among other things, he was “encouraged with the many productive discussions and progress that has taken place as the Denver Police department has decided to review its use of force policy.”
Happy they reached out to E before dropping his endorsement. Unfortunately we all weren’t blessed with the opportunity to explain ourselves. https://t.co/WnhRXgzNVz
— Brandon Marshall (@BMarshh54) September 26, 2017
“Me, I never let money deter me from what I feel is right,” Marshall said Monday. “If I did, I would have stood back up after the first time I lost those two endorsements and after I got all the backlash. I would have stood up and tried to get the endorsements back, but I didn’t. You can’t sway me with money because at the end of the day, that’s not what’s going to make me happy in the end. Of course, it’s a comfort. You use it to live a good life, but it’s not going to make me happy as a man.”