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Jordan Lucas will be the first, but he very likely will not be the last. Lucas, who spent the previous two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Chicago Bears this offseason — and in his first conversation with the media, he shared his plans regarding kneeling during the national anthem this upcoming season.
Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times asked Lucas about his thoughts about the current state of the country and whether he planned to protest racial inequality and police brutality after the death of George Floyd, and Lucas was incredibly candid in his response.
“My wife is a very vocal person on social media about all the issues that are going on across the world, about George Floyd and all the other innocent black people who have been killed,” Lucas began. “Me, I have a family and a son, so I have a lot more to worry about as far as the family aspect goes, so I’m not doing the front line protesting. What I am doing is donating money to different foundations, helping people get out of jail, donating for protesters who have been thrown in jail who have been peacefully protesting,” Lucas said.
When he was asked whether he would kneel, he didn’t skip a beat.
Jordan Lucas: “110 Percent” Will Kneel During Anthem in 2020
Lucas, who also noted he was looking forward to playing on the Bears’ “top five defense,” said he “110 percent” planned on kneeling during the national anthem this upcoming season. He is the first player of the Bears organization to confirm this intention publicly, but he very likely will not be the last.
“In 2016, my rookie year, as many of you can probably guess, I was scared to kneel,” he said. “I didn’t want to lose my position on the team. I didn’t want to be looked at differently by the front office or my coaches, just because I didn’t have a name, I didn’t really have a spot on the team. I didn’t want to lose anything — I just got there, you know? But I think a lot of people are seeing right now its much bigger than the flag — we’re not disrespecting the flag, nor the military. I think people are really starting to understand that now.”
Lucas on Kneeling in 2020: Bring it On
Does he want to see other players follow suit and see a multitude of NFL stars kneeling during the national anthem in protest during the upcoming season? “I would hope so. I would definitely hope so,” Lucas said.
Lucas also noted he appreciated NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s statement apologizing to black NFL players for not listening well enough, as well as for disallowing peaceful protest. “I think it was good. I think it was what the world needed to hear from the NFL, but it wasn’t enough.” Lucas added that he doesn’t think entire teams should feel compelled to take a knee in protest if they don’t choose to, but he does think any and all players who want to take a knee should — and likely will.
