At roughly the same time that a Denver Broncos fan was outside the team facility on Monday burning an orange t-shirt in protest of linebacker Brandon Marshall’s decision to protest police injustice by kneeling during the national anthem, the linebacker was inside Broncos headquarters answering questions about the very topic.
Since Marshall chose to join 49ers quarterback (and former Nevada teammate) Colin Kaepernick by refusing to stand for the national anthem during games he has lost two endorsement deals – one with a local credit union and one with telecoms provider Century Link.
Marshall met with the media on Monday after practice to answer questions and have the opportunity to give greater voice to what was previously a silent protest.
Here are the questions and Marshall’s answers, courtesy of Broncos media relations:
On whether he feels strongly about his actions
“I feel strongly about it. I just lost another endorsement today. Century Link decided to drop me today. Once again, I’m still doing what I believe in. It’s not going to make me lose any sleep. I’m still going to play football, but at the same time, do what I believe in.”
On what he thinks his protests will achieve
“I have some ideas. I don’t want to put them out yet. some things are in motion. I don’t want to give you any updates just yet. I want to make sure that I have everything put together before I bring it to the table.”
On if he will kneel again on Sunday
“Yes, I will kneel again on Sunday.”
On exactly what he is trying to change
“At the same time, I’m definitely with [San Francisco 49ers QB Colin] Kaepernick as far as some police laws that could be changed. I just heard that the Mayor of Denver [Michael Hancock] is pledging money to increase police training and to make the police exam harder. It’s just different things like that, and not just with police. I feel like there’s a lot of oppression still. People don’t really realize it because people that aren’t minorities and they don’t know what it’s like to be a minority in this country. I’m not saying it’s terrible. I love this country. We have great opportunities, but at the same time, if you’re not a minority, you don’t really understand. I speak for everybody when I say that because I know they agree with me, whether they say it on camera or not, they agree with me.”
On the amount of hate he’s received
“It’s a hateful world. I’m not here to spread hate. I’m not here to respond to the hate. I’m here to spread love and positivity. I’m a likeable guy. I was once a fan favorite for a reason. It’s cool because people can call me the N-word or cuss at me or say they wish I would break my neck all they want. There’s no backlash from me. Hate can’t drive out hate. Only love can drive out hate.”
On speaking about his protest rather than talking about the upcoming game
“It is weird, but it’s cool because I brought it upon myself. I know today will probably be the only day that I discuss this because I want to get on to Indy. From Wednesday on, I’m going to get on [to Indy]. I’m going to focus on the game. I still have a job to do. I know how to separate the two. I definitely appreciate all of the questions today, but on Wednesday and moving forward, I won’t be taking any questions.”
On if anyone from the Denver police community has reached out to him
“I’ll be going to talk to the [Denver] Chief of Police [Robert White] tomorrow. I’ll be talking to him tomorrow. It should create some good dialogue. The Denver Chief of Police.”
