In a video released Saturday, receiver Doug Baldwin said the Seahawks' players will stand and lock arms prior to Sunday's regular season opener against Miami in a show of unity.
The Seahawks plan to link arms in a show of unity during the national anthem Sunday, a plan revealed by receiver Doug Baldwin via social media on Saturday.
In a video he released via his Twitter page, Baldwin said specifically that the team will “stand and interlock arms in unity” during the national anthem.
Quarterback Russell Wilson later wrote via social media that “We are linking arms to stand up for Social Justice, Love & Peace for All” using the same “BuildABridge” hashtag as Baldwin.
The revelation comes after a few days of players being coy about exactly what they had in mind for what Baldwin had said would be a demonstration of unity.
Baldwin said Friday the action was devised after a few days of talks among players that began in the wake of a few debating if they should join with cornerback Jeremy Lane in sitting during the national anthem.
Lane sat during the anthem before a preseason game at Oakland on Sept. 1 saying he was showing solidarity with San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sat during an anthem before an earlier game. Kaepernick said he was protesting police brutality and social inequality.
In the brief video, Baldwin said the team is “comprised of individuals with diverse backgrounds. And as a team we have chosen to stand and interlock arms in unity. We honor those who have fought for the freedom we cherish. And we stand to assure the riches of freedom and the security of justice for all people. Progress can and will be made only if we stand together.”
The game falls on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and flag presenters are scheduled to include First Responders — local police, firefighters, ETMs and members from all branches of the United States military while the color guards will be the Joint Honor Guard comprised of active duty military members of all branches of the armed services.
Coach Pete Carroll said Friday he was proud of the manner in which the team arrived at its decision.
“They’re going to be very thoughtful, very respectful, honoring that which should be recognized,’’ Carroll said. “I’m just really proud of how they’ve gone through it. They have a conscience about what they’re doing, and they really want to do the right thing and be right. I’m just proud of the way they’ve gone through it. These are young men that are growing and they’re trying to figure out the world themselves. They want to try to make sense of how they can have impact and how they can affect others. I just couldn’t be more proud of the way they’ve gone through it. We’ll see on the weekend that I think they’re going to do a very, very good thing.”
Baldwin said Friday it had been “absolutely amazing” in how the players had interacted to arrive at their conclusion for Sunday’s show of unity.
“It makes me want to cry almost, just how our team has handled this and the discussions we’ve had and how we’ve come together,” Baldwin said.
Shortly after Baldwin released the video through his Twitter account other Seahawks also made mention of the planned action on social media.
Left tackle Bradley Sowell, for instance, also Tweeted a message with the same #BuildABridge hashtag used by Baldwin and Wilson.