Ron Rivera will stand for anthem, kneel during coin toss and put John Lewis’s initials on his hat
“I’m going to put the initials JL for John Lewis [on my hat],” Rivera told WRC. “That way, when people ask me why, I can say because he was an advocate for voter rights.”
Rivera also said he will kneel during the pregame coin toss.
“The one thing I don’t want, I don’t want the message to be contorted when it comes to, ‘Oh, well you kneeled during the anthem,’” Rivera said Monday. “I’m going to make sure that my message that I have will be during the coin toss. For anybody that disagrees with me, well, I’m sorry, but it’s my right.”
Rivera told the Athletic he was considering taking a knee during the coin toss last month, because he does support the Black Lives Matter movement and police reform. In the same interview, he explained why, given his military upbringing, he wouldn’t feel comfortable kneeling during the national anthem.
“I’m not gonna kneel because my father served in the military,” Rivera said. “My brother was a first responder. My wife’s family was in the military. My dad had brothers that served in World War II. So to me, standing at attention is what I’m going to do. That’s how I’m going to honor them.”
“[Reid] helped me to understand what Colin Kaepernick’s protest was really about,” Rivera told WRC on Monday. “Now, I could never kneel [during the national anthem] because of my family’s background, and I just believe that I shouldn’t. But, it helped me to understand and appreciate the message they’re trying to get out.”
Rivera reiterated the message he has for his own players who choose to kneel during the national anthem this season.
“I will respect your right,” Rivera said. “I will respect your First Amendment right. If that’s what you’re going to do during the national anthem, then so be it, but I will stand.”
