Cowboys defensive end Michael Bennett reportedly said Monday that his new teammates in Dallas, not team owner Jerry Jones, convinced him to start standing on the sidelines during pregame renditions of the national anthem.
Bennett, one of the league’s most outspoken players on social issues, as well as a prominent advocate for Colin Kaepernick’s return to the NFL, had been staging forms of protest during the anthem since the 2017 season. When he was acquired last month from the New England Patriots, he reportedly reached an understanding with Dallas, and Jones said at the time, “I’m satisfied that, in Michael, we’ve got a player who knows how we do it here with the Cowboys.