New York Giants Respond To Kaepernick Anthem Slight

The opinions continue to come in regarding Colin Kaepernick and his decision not to stand for the national anthem. Seems the New York Giants made theirs clear enough.

It was just days ago that the young quarterback turned the sports world on its head when he was spotted on the San Francisco 49ers sideline sitting on the bench during the national anthem. Considering this came not too long after gold medal gymnast Gabby Douglas chose not to put her hand on her heart at the Olympics, it has created quite a stir.

Arguments have been ongoing about whether Kaepernick was right to do such a thing. Some say he’s well within his limits as a free American to do as he wished, others say it was a blatant show of disrespect to thousands of men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect this country and that flag. One team that decided to send their own little message regarding the situation was the New York Giants, who made sure during their preseason game against the Jets to let people know where they stood.

From the beginning it felt like most of the Giants players took exception to what Kaepernick did. Two in particular didn’t hesitate to let their feelings be heard about in guard Justin Pugh and wide receiver Victor Cruz. Though neither of them lambasted the quarterback for his decision, they did feel it was the duty of an NFL player to show some respect, if not for the country itself, then at least the people who die for it.

"Cruz:  “Regardless of how you feel about the things that are going on in America today and the things that are going on across the world with gun violence and things of that nature, you’ve got to respect the flag,” Cruz said. “And you’ve got to stand up with your teammates. It’s bigger than just you, in my opinion. I think you go up there, you’re with a team and you go and you pledge your allegiance to the flag and you sing the national anthem with your team. And then you go about your business, whatever your beliefs are.”"

This shouldn’t be a big surprise for Cruz, who is the son of a firefighter. Pugh lost his father at the age of 13 to a heart attack and perhaps never would’ve made a success of himself in another country. Each have strong stances on when trying to make a point about America is going too far. As for their Giants teammate, the unity showed with that gesture during the anthem sends a positive message that division on the subject isn’t going to solve the root of the problem.