Hochman: Nearly 50 years ago, Big Red's Meggyesy staged his own anthem protest
"Amid the Vietnam War, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle declared how players should stand during the anthem — in line, helmet under left arm, right hand on heart, facing the flag.
“I didn’t do that,” said Meggyesy, now 75 years old. “I had my helmet down in front of me and bowed my head, and clearly I was out of sync with everybody else. … I was kind of following in the path of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, thinking — what could I do that could indicate my objection to the war, as well as the ordering of me to be a patriot? ..."
"Amid the Vietnam War, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle declared how players should stand during the anthem — in line, helmet under left arm, right hand on heart, facing the flag.
“I didn’t do that,” said Meggyesy, now 75 years old. “I had my helmet down in front of me and bowed my head, and clearly I was out of sync with everybody else. … I was kind of following in the path of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, thinking — what could I do that could indicate my objection to the war, as well as the ordering of me to be a patriot? ..."
Benjamin Hochman | St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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