With the NFL speaking out about Black Lives Matter and racial inequality last week, focus turned back on the kneeling protests that started with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien weighed in on them on Friday, saying that he would kneel with any of his players who wish to protest during the anthem next season.
O’Brien spoke with The Houston Chronicle about his decision to kneel with the players, reiterating that the protests have nothing to do with the anthem or the flag itself:
Yeah, I’ll take a knee — I’m all for it. The players have a right to protest, a right to be heard and a right to be who they are. They’re not taking a knee because they’re against our flag. They’re taking a knee because they haven’t been treated equally in this country for over 400 years.
O’Brien was part of a group of Texans personnel, alongside current team owner Cal McNair and star defensive end J.J. Watt, who attended the funeral of George Floyd, whose death after a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for over 8 minutes sparked the nationwide protests against police brutality. O’Brien told The Houston Chronicle that there wasn’t a conscious effort to rally together, but rather that it just was the right thing to do:
I think we just said enough is enough, and we’ve got to do what’s right. As an organization, we’re part of the conversation, and we want to do our part.
This isn’t a new development for O’Brien, but rather a continuation of his stance dating back to 2017, when he stated that he was supportive of his players kneeling after then-Texans owner Bob McNair condemned the protests by saying “We can’t have the inmates running the prison.”
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