Raiders Marshawn Lynch sits during national anthem at preseason NFL game

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

At Saturday’s preseason game between Oakland and Arizona, Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch sat during the national anthem.

Lynch was photographed sitting on an orange cooler in Glendale, Arizona.

This is reminiscent of last year when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the anthem to protest police brutality.

Lynch has spoken up on behalf of Kaepernick in the past, saying in 2016, “I’d rather see him take a knee than stand up, put his hands up and get murdered.”

— Marshawn Lynch hasn’t spent any of the $50MIL he’s made in the NFL — 

“If you’re really not racist then you won’t see what he done, what he’s doing, as a threat to America, but just addressing a problem that we have,” Lynch said then.

Coach Jack Del Rio was not aware of Lynch’s plans ahead of time.

“On Marshawn, talked to Marshawn trying to make sure we’re on the same page,” the coach stated. “He said, ‘This is something I’ve done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself.’ I said, ‘So you understand how I feel, I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem. But I’m going to respect you as a man, you do your thing. We’ll do ours.’ It’s a non-issue for me.”

SHARE THIS ARTICLE