Throughout the football world, players are displaying various forms of protest during the national anthem. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is easily the most well-known player to protest in this manner, but college players (and even band members) are joining in the movement and the Michigan Wolverines exercised their right on Saturday afternoon.
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A few fists were in the air on Michigan's sideline during national anthem. https://t.co/F4CdcPn4Vw pic.twitter.com/OIrUOdiyE6
— Dan Murphy (@DanMurphyESPN) September 24, 2016
Several Michigan players with raised fists during today's anthem. #GoBlue #justice #Michiganmen #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/WUuwoEnLMY
— Kumar Rao (@KumarRaoNYC) September 24, 2016
While it is unclear as to the full list of Michigan players who raised their hands during the anthem prior to the game against Penn State, there are at least a few confirmed by video. Starting fullback Khalid Hill, starting linebacker Mike McCray, Elysee Mbem-Bosse, Devin Bush and All-American cornerback Jourdan Lewis can be seen engaging in the action, and they were likely joined by a few additional teammates.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was lambasted as a result of his initial take on Kaepernick's actions (as a quarterback who formally played under Harbaugh's tutelage), but he did walk back those remarks and it will be interesting to see what his response is with regard to his own players. Nonetheless, it does not appear that this form of expression will be slowing down any time soon, and Michigan's roster was simply the latest to jump in the mix.