Less than three weeks ago, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the national anthem in an effort to bring awareness to racial inequality in the United States.
Since then, multiple NFL players (and one pro soccer star) have followed in Kaepernick's footsteps by making a non-verbal statement during the anthem.
Some players have decided to join Kaepernick in taking a knee while the Star Spangled Banner plays. Others have raised their fists during the anthem, as Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett and safety Devin McCourty did in Glendale on Sunday, the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Thus far, no member of the Arizona Cardinals has followed Kaepernick's lead. On Monday, Cards All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson explained why.
"Guys have different beliefs, but for the most part, we don’t want to bring any individual spotlight on ourselves. Everyone believes in something, but at this point, as a team, we thought it would be better for us just to stand," Peterson said during ABC15's Cardinals Countdown Facebook Live event at the Big Red Brew Haus on Monday night.
That's not to say that there hasn't been plenty of discussion among individual players regarding the movement Kaepernick has begun.
"(We haven't discussed it) as a team, but as players," Peterson said. "It's definitely been a hot topic."
Peterson has been a vocal supporter of the U.S. military and veterans. During Veterans Day last year, he took to Twitter to thank vets throughout the day.
Thank you to all of the Veterans who tweeted at me tonight! Just shinning a light on the TRUE super stars & heroes! ???????????? #SaluteToService
— Patrick Peterson /P2 (@RealPeterson21) November 12, 2015
That's one of the reasons why Peterson and all of his teammates decided to stand Sunday night.
"If you saw the game (Sunday), all of us, we stood for the national anthem. Especially on 9/11, you have to definitely pay respects to the firemen and to the troops that fought for our freedom and tried to save lives from the falling twin towers," he said.
