On August 15, Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson issued a timid statement expressing the hope that his players wouldn't feel compelled to protest during the national anthem at game time:

"I think everybody has a right to do, and I get it, but the national anthem means a lot to myself personally, the organization and our football team. I hope -- again I can't speak, I haven't really talked to our team about it -- I would hope that we don't have those issues."

Jackson later tried to clarify his remarks in a statement, suggesting some support for the protest against racial injustice and police brutality, blah blah blah.

"My personal feeling is that over the last season, we've seen players come under unfair scrutiny for protesting during the anthem, mainly because the focus has become on whether or not a player is being disrespectful to the flag or military and not on the issue and cause attempting to be addressed by the protest. The intent of my comments was not to discourage individual expression from our players in light of a cause that moves them to personal expression. I'm disheartened that I gave anyone that impression because I did not speak with enough clarity."

A week later, his players held the NFL's largest such protest since ex-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kicked off the whole anthem-protest trend almost exactly a year ago. 

CBS Sports reports that nearly a dozen players went to their knees during the anthem before Cleveland's game against the Giants on Monday. They included Isaiah Crowell, Duke Johnson, Jabrill Peppers, Christian Kirksey, Seth DeValve, Jamie Collins, Kenny Britt, Ricardo Louis and Jamar Taylor, if you follow football and recognize those names.

DeValve's participation is notable because it makes him the first white player to kneel during the anthem, said CBS Sports. "His inclusion comes in the same week that Chris Long and Justin Britt symbolically joined protests by holding on to the shoulder of their teammates and Derek Carr made a point of putting his arm around Khalil Mack during the anthem."

In addition, several Browns players didn't kneel but did show support for the protest by placing their arms on their teammates. Shon Coleman, Britton Colquitt, Jason McCourty, Marcus Martin, and rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer were all among that batch.

At halftime of that game, the Browns organization released a statement which made it clear that, like many other NFL organizations, it was going to punt responsibility downfield instead of taking a stand against players hurting the team and the league who choose to play politics instead of the game they're being paid millions to play:

"As an organization, we have a profound respect for our country's National Anthem, flag and the servicemen and servicewomen in the United States and abroad. We feel it's important for our team to join in this great tradition and special moment of recognition... At the same time we also respect the great liberties afforded by our country including the freedom of personal expression."

The NFL leadership could take a lesson from Team USA hockey coach John Tortorella's playbook. He declared that he would bench any player who took a knee during the national anthem.

The NFL has already taken a big hit in ratings, and polls show that it's precisely because of the politicization of the game not only from players themselves but from sportscasters and sports media such as ESPN, where sports has taken a back seat to leftwing politics almost to the extent that music videos have taken a back seat at MTV.