Raiders sit for national anthem, Dan Snyder links arms with Redskins

The Oakland Raiders had planned to stay in their locker room for the national anthem Sunday night, but due to primetime scheduling were unable to do so, reports NBC’s Michele Tafoya.

Teams have protested in various manners throughout the day, and several have simply not gone onto the field until the anthem has finished. In the Sunday night, slot, as Tafoya reported, there isn’t time to do so. Had the Raiders remained in the locker room, they would have forfeited the coin toss — giving their opponent, the Washington Redskins, the choice of having the ball to start both halves — and would have been subject to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. Instead, the vast majority of the players sat on the bench arm-in-arm.

On the other side of the field, most of the members of the Redskins stood for the anthem, though there were multiple clumps of players kneeling. Those that stood were arm-in-arm, and team owner Dan Snyder joined them on the sideline.