Broncos fans delivered a significant number of cheers mixed with a noticeable, but quieter entry of boos when linebacker Brandon Marshall was introduced before Sunday’s game against Indianapolis.
Marshall said he couldn’t tell the reaction initially, but he definitely was listening. He asked his fellow teammate Shaquil Barrett, who told him he thought it was “half-and-half” between cheers and boos.
“I was expecting all boos,” Marshall said, laughing, after the game.
Marshall took a knee during the national anthem for the second straight game in protest of social injustice and police brutality in the United States. No other Broncos or Colts player appeared to participate in the gesture.
“I wanted to really show that I’m not deterred by the loss of endorsements. It’s not going to make me change my message. It’s not going to make me feel any differently about what the issues are,” Marshall said. “I wanted to send that message again that I’m not afraid of any penalty because I’m going to do what I believe.”
He has delivered action behind his words since first protesting on Sept. 8 before the Carolina game. Marshall pledged a $300 donation for every tackle he makes to organizations committed to helping better causes he finds important.
Marshall had four tackles Sunday, bringing his season tackle total to 10. He hasn’t made a finalized list of organizations to receive money, but he mentioned Wounded Warriors as one foundation that interests him.
“A lot of the real issues beyond the symbol I’m making, nobody wants to talk about that,” Marshall said, referring specifically to instances of police brutality. “There are some police officers that haven’t upheld the people’s rights. I don’t know if they really look at some individuals as people. That’s huge. They might get in the heat of the moment and they look at them as a suspect. They don’t look at him as. ‘Oh, he has a family. He has a wife. He has a kid.’ The majority of police officers are good, but then there are some that don’t really uphold the law or the standard that they should.”
