The Browns haven’t decided what they will do during the national anthem this season. It’s too soon.
But new coach Kevin Stefanski stands beside his players in whatever they decide.
“I am just so keen on dialogue with our players and listening,’’ Stefanski said on a conference call Wednesday, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “My big note to our players is that I have their back, and that’s not just lip service. I’m standing right there beside them. They have my support, and I promise you one thing, we will just continue to listen to each other from a place of mutual respect.”
NFL players likely will continue what Colin Kaepernick started in 2016, costing him his job. In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, some players, including Adrian Peterson, already have committed to kneeling for the national anthem in protest of police brutality and social injustice.
The Browns will discuss their position as a team.
“The honest answer is I don’t know,’’ Stefanski said. “I want to make sure when we get together, that’s one of many issues we need to talk about in this movement, if you will. That’s something that I promise you we will spend as much time as necessary as an organization listening to each other, understanding each other, and then we’ll make a decision together. I hesitate to say because I want to make sure that I am sitting with our guys on things like that.”
The Browns have had guest speakers during their virtual meetings, and former New York State Chief Deputy Attorney General Alvin Bragg, who went to Harvard with Browns Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, visited with them Wednesday.