The Miami Dolphins seem unconcerned by the NFL’s new stance on national anthem protests, as two of the team’s players kneeled before their preseason home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Trump Lashes Out At Dolphins For Anthem Protests

President Donald Trump lashed out at the Dolphins on Twitter after wide receivers Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills both took a knee on the sideline. Miami defensive end Robert Quinn protested the anthem by raising his fist, while other players on the squad decided to lock arms.

In a pair of tweets, Trump claimed most of the NFL players continuing to protest the anthem did not even fully understand what they were making statements about, and also said most of the money fans pay to go watch football games “goes to the players.” The president also said the players deserved suspensions without pay if they continued kneeling, a practice free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick first started in August 2016 with the San Francisco 49ers to make a statement about racial inequality and police brutality in the United States.

SLIDESHOW: 30 Best Sports Instagrams! 

Trump has been a frequent vocal critic of athletes kneeling for the national anthem, and is said to have heavily influenced the NFL’s decision in May to punish players who participate in these types of protests with fines and other sanctions. Last month, the league and its union — the NFL Players’ Association — announced that they would freeze the previously established policies on anthem protests “for the next several weeks” after reaching a standstill on the issue many conservatives have deemed controversial.

30 SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2018 – TRIBUTE SLIDESHOW

Several other NFL players protested the national anthem this week, which marked the start of the preseason. Philadelphia Eagles players like safety Malcolm Jenkins and cornerback De’Vante Bausby raised their fists in Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Even Kaepernick — who has still been unable to return to the league because of his protests — made clear that he hasn’t abandoned his fight for equality. On Thursday night, during the Dolphins’ game, Kaepernick tweeted a photo of him and Stills standing together while wearing black t-shirts that read “I know my rights.” The former 49ers quarterback praised and thanked Stills and Wilson for continuing his protest.

Jenkins also shared this photo of himself in the locker room on Thursday:

The Philadelphia safety drew headlines earlier this summer when he made several signs in response to Trump’s refusal to invite the Eagles to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl victory.

In response to the widespread protests of the National Anthem among NFL players over the course of the entire 2017 season, the NFL recently passed a ruling stating that  players kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner” would face a monetary fine and a potential yardage penalty for their team. This has sent shockwaves throughout the football world over the past few days due to how prevalent the protests were among the entire NFL, and rightfully so, considering league is robbing its players of their right to free speech and protest. This being the case, you’d expect that a formal vote would among league officials and team owners would to have taken place, right?

SLIDESHOW: SPORTS FIGURES WHO DIED IN 2017

Well, the reality of the situation turns out to be nothing of the sort, as no formal vote took place whatsoever. Rather, the league went off of owners simply raising their hands in front of one another in order to see who supported the move. The informality of the process is extremely concerning, as almost all major decisions made by the NFL have been made through a formal tally of privately-casted votes, making this seem like an inappropriately “quick fix” to what league owners deem a major issue.

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith expressed such concern during a Friday appearance on ESPN’s Get Up! in which he said, “Suggests to me that this was more of a desperate attempt by a group of owners to simply quote-unquote ‘get back to playing football’ rather than to honestly and with a sense of what America means, to sit down and figure out what’s the right thing to do. What I think they did was they sat down and tried to figure out, ‘What can we get away with as quickly as possible?'”

SLIDESHOW: 30 BEST SPORTS INSTAGRAMS

As if tensions among NFL players and team owners weren’t high enough after the announcement of the new ruling, this news will likely only serve to escalate the situation. Not helping things was Donald Trump, who obviously had to weigh in and say that players who don’t stand for the National Anthem “shouldn’t be in the country.”

With the season’s opening day just a few months away, time will tell how this will influence how the 2018 NFL season plays out, but things are certainly not looking good in terms of the players’ relationships with the league’s higher-ups.

Colin Kaepernick received a top award from Amnesty International on Saturday, and took the opportunity to criticize the American criminal justice system in his acceptance speech.

Colin Kaepernick Wins Top Award from Amnesty International

The free-agent quarterback was named Amnesty’s 2018 Ambassador of Conscience, a prestigious human rights honor, for his push to end racial injustice. Kaepernick, 30, began his crusade to end inequality and oppression when he first knelt for the National Anthem during a San Francisco 49ers preseason game in August 2016. Dozens of other athletes within and outside the NFL quickly started replicating Kaepernick’s protest, and the issue of kneeling/sitting vs. standing for the anthem and flag has since become a highly polarizing one.

SLIDESHOW: 30 Best Sports Instagrams!

Kaepernick accepted the award in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. The biracial athlete said he shared the prize “with all of the countless people throughout the world combating the human rights violations of police officers.”

“Racialized oppression and dehumanization is woven into the very fabric of our nation — the effects of which can be seen in the lawful lynching of black and brown people by the police, and the mass incarceration of black and brown lives in the prison industrial complex,” Kaepernick added.

President Donald Trump, his supporters and several members of his administration have been among some of the most vocal critics of the national anthem protests. Former President Barack Obama defended Kaepernick after his initial protest.

“How can you stand for the national anthem of a nation that preaches and propagates, ‘freedom and justice for all,’ that is so unjust to so many of the people living there?” Kaepernick continued.

Kaepernick has been unable to find a new team to play for since the 49ers released him after the 2016 season. He filed a grievance against all 32 NFL team owners in late 2017, accusing them of colluding to keep him out of the league.

The NFL’s ratings fell substantially during the 2017 season, and many believe this was caused in part by the wave of anthem protests and other political statements teams have recently made.

According to Fox News, the NFL has pledged to donate $90 million over the next seven years to causes related to social justice.

Per the Washington Post, Kaepernick also cited Malcolm X by asking people to “join in with anyone – I don’t care what color you are – as long as you want to change this miserable condition that exists on this earth.”

Kapernick also praised his former 49ers teammate Eric Reid, a safety who is also currently a free agent and who joined him in protesting the anthem several times.  Reid presented Kaepernick with the award on Saturday.

SLIDESHOW: 10 Highest-Paid Athletes

Among the previous winners of the Ambassador of Conscience award are Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who fought for girls’ education rights even after being shot by the Taliban, and former South African President and apartheid figure Nelson Mandela. 

Here are other celebrities who tweeted about Kaepernick’s speech:

Megan Rapinoe once again knelt during the national anthem Thursday before the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team’s game against Thailand in Columbus, Ohio, in her first on-field appearance since a National Women’s Soccer League match on Sept. 7.

Megan Rapinoe Kneels For National Anthem Before U.S. Friendly 9-0 Win Over Thailand

The midfielder was not part of the starting lineup, but entered along with four other substitutions at the beginning of the second half with the U.S. up 4-0. Rapinoe took one shot, and the USWNT won 9-0.

On Sept. 4, Rapinoe became the first active non-black professional athlete to demonstrate support for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest during an NFL preseason game in August.

The 31-year-old Seattle Reign star, who played for the U.S. women’s team at the Rio 2016 Olympics, later complemented her action with a tweet, in which she said: “It’s the least I can do. Keep the conversation going.”

Rapinoe’s move did not sit well with U.S. Soccer, however. On Sept. 7, she planned to kneel again before a NWSL match between the Reign and the Spirit, but she was stymied by the Spirit, who played the anthem before the teams were on the field.

That night, Washington’s team issued a statement that read: “In light of Seattle Reign and U.S. Women’s National Team member Megan Rapinoe’s public declaration that she intended to ‘take a knee’ during the United States’ national anthem tonight, we decided to play the anthem in our stadium ahead of schedule rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent.”

Rapinoe responded by saying she was “saddened” by the Spirit’s decision. Evidently, she was not afraid to repeat her protest while representing the U.S. women’s national team.

“I think ultimately I just went with what’s in my heart,” Rapinoe said in an interview on ESPN after Thursday’s game against Thailand.

When asked about the consequences of protesting the national anthem in a U.S. jersey, the midfielder added: “I think it is different. I think it means a lot more. I truly feel like I am representing my country by doing this, in representing everyone that lives in this country, not just the people who look like me.”

The string of anthem and flag protests by athletes— both professional and non-professional– across the country have arisen due to anger with racial injustice, police brutality and, as Kaepernick– the original leader of the protest– put it, “the oppression of black people and people of color.”

Many have harshly criticized Kaepernick and his followers for disrespecting the police, members of the armed forces, and other people who are commonly associated with the flag. Nevertheless, dozens of military veterans have expressed their approval and support of Kaepernick’s protest, saying he has the right to do so and starting the hashtag #VeteransforKaepernick on social media.

Rapinoe continued her explanation for folllowing Kaepernick’s protest, saying: “I think that we need to look at all the things that we say the flag and the anthem mean and everybody that it represents and all the liberties and the freedoms that we want it to mean to everybody, and ask ourselves, Is it protecting everybody in the same way? Is it giving all the freedoms to everyone in the country the same way, or are there certain people that don’t feel as protected as I do every day?”

She also said that as an openly gay person, she knows how it feels to gaze at the flag and realize America doesn’t always treat or protect everyone the same.

“Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties,” Rapinoe told American Soccer Now after the game.

U.S. Soccer also released a statement Thursday night, which read: “Representing your country is a privilege and honor for any player or coach that is associated with U.S. Soccer’s National Team. Therefore, our national anthem has particular significance for U.S. Soccer. In front of national and often global audiences, the playing of our national anthem is an opportunity for our Men’s and Women’s National Team players and coaches to reflect upon the liberties and freedom we all appreciate in this country.

“As part of the privilege to represent your country, we have an expectation that our players and coaches will stand and honor our flag while the National Anthem is played.”

Thursday night’s game also marked the final one of midfielder Heather O’Reilly as a member of the women’s national team; thus some also criticized Rapinoe for switching the attention from O’Reilly to herself.

“She did talk to the team, that she was thinking about doing that,” O’Reilly told ESPNW. “And we know, obviously, why she is doing that — because she loves this country and she wants to see change and that’s how she feels, in her heart, that she’s demonstrating it.”

Captain Carli Lloyd had a hat-trick, Alex Morgan scored two goals, and O’Reilly, Christen Press, Tobin Heath and Crystal Dunn each netted one goal. Lloyd’s hat trick was the seventh of her international career. Her first goal, the first for the U.S., came in the first minute, quickly followed by Press and O’Reilly’s goals in the 4th and 5th minutes, respectively.

The USWNT will next play the Netherlands at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Sunday.

BRASILIA, BRAZIL – AUGUST 12: Megan Rapinoe #15 of United States goes up for the ball against Sweden in the second half as Carli Lloyd #10 of United States looks on during the Women’s Football Quarterfinal match at Mane Garrincha Stadium on Day 7 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 12, 2016 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Photo by Celso Junior/Getty Images)

Arian Foster and three of his Miami Dolphins teammates were scathingly lambasted for their decision to kneel during the national anthem before their team’s 12-10 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday.

Dolphins’ Arian Foster Compares Kneeling To Protest Flag And Anthem To Kneeling In Church

Scores of people expressed their anger with the move on social media, saying it disrespected the flag and those who fight or have fought to protect America’s freedoms and values.

Foster, however, stood by his action — which was inspired by San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick — and after Sunday’s game, the 30-year-old running back made an analogy that likened kneeling for the flag to kneeling during a church service.

“I’ll make one thing clear, it’s not about the symbology that people are mad about,” Foster said of kneeling, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “It’s about the message and it’s about who’s saying it because if it’s about a knee that people are upset about, every Sunday, people of faith take a knee to give thanks to their Lord and Savior, whatever faith or whatever religion they are.”

Foster’s full comments can be seen in the video below:

Kaepernick’s protest went viral on Aug. 26 after he refused to stand for playing of the national anthem before the 49ers’ third preseason game.

“It never dawned on to me to make a statement like that,” Foster said, via USA Today. “That’s why I feel like what Colin did — I agree with him and I understand 100% what he’s doing. Rather than sparring with anybody publicly about which way was the right way and which way was the wrong way, I took my ego out of it and said ‘This conversation has started once again.’ I feel like I had a responsibility to keep it going, because it’s healthy conversation.”

The running back also added that there’s one other argument he has continually heard from dissenters that bothers him: that this is not the adequate moment to launch this type of protest.

“They say ‘It’s not the time to do this.’ Well, when is the time?,” Foster said. “It’s never the time in somebody else’s eyes because they’ll always feel like it’s good enough and some people don’t. That’s the beautiful thing about this country, if somebody feels it’s not good enough, then they have the right, and that’s all they’re doing is exercising their right.”

Foster and his teammates Kenny Stills, Jelani Jenkins, and Michael Thomas all kneeled before Sunday’s game. The move carried a special significance since it came on the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. 

Foster makes a great point. If now is not the right time, then when will it be? How much longer will we as a nation have to wait for at least one person in all areas of life (politics, sports, entertainment, etc.) to take a stand against injustice and oppression? If not football players, then who?

Jenkins also expressed why he personally chose to go through with the protest, adding he decided to protest days before the game.

“A lot of things are happening to people that look like me,” Jenkins said. “I think that it was pulling on my heart to stand up and not act like I haven’t seen [injustice] and not act like everything is OK, because it’s not. So it’s very important to me.”

Kaepernick’s protest has gradually been gaining traction, and more players will surely continue to replicate his action.

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 11: Running back Arian Foster #29 of the Miami Dolphins rushes against the Seattle Seahawks in the first quarter at CenturyLink Field on September 11, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Brandon Marshall demonstrated Thursday night that he is just one more person who stands by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest of not standing during the playing of the national anthem before games.

Broncos LB Brandon Marshall Kneels During Anthem Before 21-20 Season-Opening Win Vs Panthers

The Denver Broncos linebacker, who turns 27 on Saturday, knelt during ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ before Thursday night’s NFL season opener against the Carolina Panthers, which the Broncos won 21-20 at home.

“I’m not against the military,” Marshall said following the game, per Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post, adding with clarity what he was against: “I’m not against the police or America. I’m against social injustice.”

All of the other players on the field were standing, according to the Charlotte Observer‘s Joe Person.

“While we encourage members of our organization to stand during the National Anthem, we understand and respect it being a personal decision,” the Broncos said in a statement, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.

“Brandon is a great kid,” Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak said, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post. “He is a leader of this team. I believe in my players.”

Fellow Broncos linebacker and Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller said after the game that he supports Marshall and Kaepernick in the belief that change is needed, although he added that he wont’ kneel for the anthem, according to Judy Battista of NFL.com.

Kaepernick told NFL Media’s Steve Wyche that he opted against standing to show support for those who he believes are treated unjustly.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

The 49ers QB spurred severe controversy with both his refusal to stand and his words.

Marshall and Kaepernick were teammates in college on the Nevada Wolf Pack.

“We can post (on social media) and say all we want, but that’s the real change. To get out in the community and say we’re going to do this,” Marshall said, per Cameron Wolfe. “Sometimes you have to go straight to the source and really have a conversation to sit down and talk with the leaders.”

Several other similar protests may arise this weekend before the rest of the NFL teams play their season openers.

According to ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia, Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner disclosed that his squad may unite for a team-wide display of unity.

In the first half of Thursday’s game, as the Panthers gained a 17-7 lead, the Broncos seemed to have suffered a greater loss of personnel than even retired QB Peyton Manning, who led Denver to a victory over Carolina in Super Bowl 50 in February. The Panthers racked up 220 yards, including 95 yards rushing.

In all, Panthers QB Cam Newton had 11 runs for 54 yards and one touchdown. Carolina also led by 10 points at halftime.

The Panthers will next host the 49ers on Sept. 18, while the Broncos, led by new QB Trevor Siemian, will host the Indianapolis Colts that same Sunday.

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 13: Fullback Kyle Juszczyk #44 of the Baltimore Ravens rushes against outside linebacker Brandon Marshall #54 of the Denver Broncos in the third quarter of a game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on September 13, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)