Petition Calls For Removal Of Ray Lewis Statue

BALTIMORE, MD - Thousands of people have added their names to the roster of those who would like to see the Ray Lewis statue removed at M&T Bank Stadium.

The statue was installed in 2014, two years after Lewis retired from the team. The linebacker played 17 consecutive seasons as a linebacker, including two Super Bowl wins and 13 trips to the Pro Bowl.

A Baltimore County resident who said he has been a fan of the Ravens for more than 20 years started the petition on Change.org after Lewis knelt during the national anthem before Sunday's game in London.

"That song honors our country and our veterans who fought for it," petition author Eric Moniodis of Hydes wrote on Change.org. "To kneel during it is disrespectful, regardless of what you are protesting."

See the Change.org petition about the Ray Lewis statue.

More than 41,000 people had signed the petition as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday. It was addressed to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti.

"I will not stand for that kind of disrespect towards our country, especially from a legend such as Ray Lewis," Moniodis wrote. "You stand for the National Anthem as a salute to those who can't stand because they fought for this land."

Lewis spoke out on 105.7 FM Tuesday night and said he was not protesting; he was praying.

"I never took a knee; I took two knees," Lewis said on the radio show. "You don't protest on two knees."

A spokesperson for the Maryland Stadium Authority, which oversees M&T Bank Stadium, told The Baltimore Sun that "additional officers and other security enhancements" had been added to the stadium as of Sunday.

After the outcry by the fans, the Ravens national anthem singer resigned on Tuesday night.

"Fans who attack players for protesting (a right in which I fought to defend) but are simply not interested in understanding why is the reason I am resigning," Sgt. Joey Odoms, a member of the Maryland National Guard, said on Facebook.

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Photo of Ray Lewis statue by Austin Kirk via Flickr, licensed under CC BY 2.0.