Titans wide receiver Rishard Matthews says he will quit the NFL, if the league forces players to stand during the national anthem. Matthews has been one of the players opting to protest, staying in the locker room during the playing of the anthem before games. He was asked on Twitter by a Nashville media producer what he would do if the NFL instituted a penalty for players who protested the anthem. That’s when Matthews replied, “I will be done playing football.”
He has since deleted his response but it was already captured and shared. Matthews has ben vocal in his support for those that want to protest and started doing it himself after Donald Trump called the protesting players “son of a bitch.”
Matthews comes from a military household as his father and late brother both served in the Marines. He has always shown great respect for the armed forces but the remarks from Trump and the state of the world has spurned him to start participating.
If Matthews does indeed retire it won’t make that much news as he is fairly nondescript. But if he is the first and it causes other big name players to leave the game, then we might have something.
