Few Comments From Brady, Belichick On Trump Protest

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Twenty members of the New England Patriots who were on the sideline during Sunday's game against the Houston Texans took a knee during the national anthem in protest of comments made by President Donald Trump. Quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick, well known friends of the president, did not get down on one knee or address substantially it after the game.

Neither chose to really address the response during their postgame press conferences, with Brady only discussing the great love he has for his teammates.

"I've got a lot of love for my teammates. I mean, we go through a lot together. There's a lot of blood, sweat and tears. I don't think it's easy to play this sport. I mean, there's a lot of guys that sacrifice a lot. I think you have a lot of respect for the guys who play, not only your own teammates but guys you play against. I mean, without them, it's not a great game. So, it's like I said. I believe in all of us coming together," Brady said, when asked about the boos that reigned down from Gillette Stadium when players began to go down to one knee.

During the pregame anthem, Brady could be see standing on the team's sideline, with his arms linked with his teammates.

When Belichick was asked about the way the team handled the national anthem he said, "Yeah, I’m just going to talk about the game. I’ll deal with that later."

Across the league, players and teams have either taken a knee on the field or stayed in the locker room during the signing of the national anthem as a response to comments made by Trump at a rally in Alabama Friday. The president told the crowd that players who did not stand during the national anthem should be fired. The comments has drawn objection from players, the NFL, and team owners.

Outside of Trump's buddies on the team, Devin McCourty, who was wearing a shirt with the phrase "No Place for Racism, Facism, Sexism and Hate," said the team discussed how to respond, noting that they wanted to show a display of unity and not showcase any disrespect to members of the military.

"We hate that people are going to see it as that we don’t respect the military and the men and women that are way braver than us that go and put their life on the line every day for us to have the right to play football, and we know people are going to see it that way. Guys have family members, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters that serve, and they were really conflicted about it. But, we just wanted to send a message of unity and being together and not standing for the disrespect and different ways guys felt," McCourty said.

Wide receiver Danny Amendola maintained after the game that the team is united and together.

“We’re solid in here. I know that. White, black, Puerto Rican – it doesn’t matter. So we’re good in here and we’ve got a really solid group and we’re all excited to play together and work together. It’s awesome to be a part of,” he said.

During Sunday's evening game, the NFL aired an unity ad that was made earlier this year that shows how football can bring people together.

Image Credit: Michael Dwyer/AP Images