--- description: Lynch has consistently sat during the national anthem instead of kneeling title: Raiders Staffers Cover Marshawn Lynch During National Anthem image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b7c0b996757392a/6988e01522fb85d5f2e23165/gettyimages-854626610.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [NFL](/tag/nfl/) ## NFL Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Raiders Staffers Surrounded Marshawn Lynch As He Sat During the National Anthem by [Chris Chavez / Sports Illustrated](/author/sports-illustrated/) ## Chris Chavez / Sports Illustrated Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 2, 2017 3:36 AM CUT  Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch leaves the field, Sept. 24, 2017 at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch leaves the field, Sept. 24, 2017 at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.Mark Goldman—Icon Sportswire/Getty Images by [Chris Chavez / Sports Illustrated](/author/sports-illustrated/) ## Chris Chavez / Sports Illustrated Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 2, 2017 3:36 AM CUT Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch was surrounded and covered by team staffers as he sat during the national anthem. He was the only player sitting during the Star Spangled Banner and no photo opportunities were allowed, [according](https://twitter.com/GehlkenNFL/status/914586365299499009 "undefined") to Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Lynch arrived at the game [wearing a T-shirt ](https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/01/marshawn-lynch-donald-trump-t-shirt "undefined")that said “Everybody vs. Trump.” The demonstration comes just one week after President Trump called for players to stand during the national anthem or risk getting fired. Lynch has consistently sat during the national anthem instead of kneeling. > [](https://twitter.com/SBNation/status/914593936693514240) The Raiders are playing the Broncos, who all stood for the anthem. _This_ [_article_](https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/01/marshawn-lynch-national-anthem-protest-sitting-raiders-staff-covers-him "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_SI.com_](http://si.com "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4964573/marshawn-lynch-nfl-national-anthem/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4964573/marshawn-lynch-nfl-national-anthem/"},"headline":"Raiders Staffers Surrounded Marshawn Lynch As He Sat During the National Anthem","datePublished":"2017-10-02T03:36:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:40:39.657Z","description":"Lynch has consistently sat during the national anthem instead of kneeling","url":"https://time.com/4964573/marshawn-lynch-nfl-national-anthem/","keywords":["NFL","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b7c0b996757392a/6988e01522fb85d5f2e23165/gettyimages-854626610.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chris Chavez / Sports Illustrated"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0b7c0b996757392a/6988e01522fb85d5f2e23165/gettyimages-854626610.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NFL: SEP 24 Raiders at Redskins","caption":"NFL: SEP 24 Raiders at Redskins","creditText":"Mark Goldman—Icon Sportswire/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nfl/","name":"NFL"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4964573/marshawn-lynch-nfl-national-anthem/","name":"Raiders Staffers Surrounded Marshawn Lynch As He Sat During the National Anthem"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"NFL: Trump's Criticism of Players Shows an 'Unfortunate Lack of Respect'","description":"President Donald Trump has some advice for National Football League owners: Fire players who kneel during the national anthem. He's also encouraging fans to walk out in protest.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/RJxQXleq/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-09-23T14:00:28.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RJxQXleq.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4964573/marshawn-lynch-nfl-national-anthem/","duration":"PT2M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4964573/marshawn-lynch-nfl-national-anthem/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```