There was Alejandro Villenueva, an Army Ranger veteran who served three tours in Afghanistan, standing alone Sunday beneath the noonday sun at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Behind him, darkened in the shadows of a stadium tunnel, were his Steelers teammates. They waited out of sight, their sideline almost entirely unoccupied, until the national anthem ended.
When whispers of protest surfaced Saturday, one day after President Donald Trump said NFL owners should fire players who kneel during the national anthem, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin asked his team to determine a course of action with which the full 53-man roster could comply.