Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall has lost endorsements, received hate on social media and had a homemade jersey with his name on it burned in front of the team facility.
You'd think this type of vitriol would be directed toward someone who was arrested or accused of something awful. Instead, Marshall is just taking a knee.
MORE: Russell Simmons offers Marshall endorsement after others bail
Marshall said he expected the backlash, but he tries not to pay too much attention to it. As he wrote for the Denver Post, "A lot of the backlash is a diversion from the real issue." What is the real issue? People dying in the streets, or being racially profiled by police and others.
This is something Marshall knows about with firsthand experience. He wrote about an incident over the summer where police were involved and Marshall ended up in the back of a cop car after doing nothing wrong.
I was in Miami with three others at a restaurant and there was a shooting. Everybody ducked under the table out of fear, and a cop came in and told us it was fine, that it was just fireworks. We knew that wasn’t the truth.
We began to leave the only way we knew, but there was a lady in regular street clothes directing traffic, telling us, “Go this way, go this way!” At a serious, scary moment a lady I didn’t know was telling me which way to go, and I didn’t trust it.
We went our own way, and she yelled to the cops, “Stop him! Get him!” When I turned around, about five officers rushed toward me to take me down. They tried to take me down up top, then they tried to grab my legs. One of the cops pointed a Taser at my chest. They handcuffed me and I heard one say, “Take him in for resisting.”
I was in the back of the police car headed to the station when one of the officers radioes in and said, “Bring him back.” They told me, “Look, we’re not going to take you in as long as you keep this between us.”
MORE: Marshall says Broncos aren't dirty after Cam hits
Marshall isn't just kneeling this season, either. He's already met with Denver's police chief, and is going to continue his off-the-field efforts for improvement. To further help his efforts, he's going to donate $300 for every tackle this season.
