Last Monday, Seth DeValve became the first White player in the NFL to kneel during the national anthem.
Instead of standing with his hand over his heart, DeValve joined 10 of his Cleveland Browns teammates in a circle of prayer while the Star-Spangled Banner blared through the speakers.
DeValve, whose wife is African American, told the media after the game, “I wanted to take the opportunity with my teammates during the anthem to pray for our country and also to draw attention to the fact that we have work to do. And that’s why I did what I did.”
That was just one week after Seattle Seahawks Michael Bennet called on White players to participate in these protests.
Now, DeValve’s wife is speaking out about what happened in an op-ed for Very Smart Brothas.
Erica Harris DeValve said she didn’t know her husband was going to kneel ahead of time.
“When it began, I saw a group of Browns players kneeling and was proud. A few moments later, I noticed that No. 87 — my husband, Seth — was among them, and I was even prouder.”
Now she wants to “push back” on some of the attention her husband has been getting over his protest. She said she doesn’t want him to be seen “as some sort of White savior to a movement that was started and has been carried on by Black football players.”
Erica said we’d all be wise to remember that a Black man “literally lost his job for taking a knee, week after week, on his own. Colin Kaepernick bravely took a step and began a movement throughout the NFL, and he suffered a ridiculous amount of hate and threats and ultimately lost his life’s work in the sport he loves.”
She went on to say that people should not see Seth’s participation as “legitimizing this movement.” Instead, look at it as though he has chosen to be an “ally of his Black teammates.”
“To center the focus of Monday’s demonstration solely on Seth is to distract from what our real focus should be: listening to the experiences and the voices of the black people who are using their platforms to continue to bring the issue of racism in the U.S. to the forefront,” she wrote.
“Seth, as a White individual, never has and never will truly have to feel the weight and burden of racial discrimination and racial oppression. No White person does or will. But all White people should care and take a stand against its prevalence in this country.”
Erica DeValve concluded the piece by writing: “To be complacent that the U.S. strives to be ‘the land of the free’ while so many of its citizens of color are being oppressed for their race is unpatriotic and irresponsible. I applaud those who realize that and do something about it rather than ignore it.”
