NT Dontari Poe kneels alone again, becomes first Dallas Cowboys captain to take a knee
Nose tackle Dontari Poe continued his solo silent protest in support of social justice on the Dallas Cowboys sideline and, once again, made history in the process.
Poe is the only Cowboys player to ever take a knee during the national anthem and now he is the first captain in team history to do so as he was named one of three game-day captains prior to Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.
Owner Jerry Jones had previously outlawed his players from doing anything that could be perceived as disrespectful to the flag during the anthem.
But that ban was lifted before the season with players given the freedom to individually protest with the full support of the organization.
Poe’s protest has been supported each game with players or coaches standing behind or beside him with a hand on his shoulder.
But the support was manifested most on Sunday with the captain honor. Poe was the defensive captain. The other captains were running back Ezekiel Elliott for offense and defensive end Dorance Armstrong for special teams.
“It’s been real good. Nothing but positivity coming from them, coming from all the guys,” Poe said earlier this week when asked about the support he’s received from his teammates. “As long as it’s not being a big thing where we’re at odds about it. I think it’s a good thing that we can sit down and talk about it as men and be in a mind frame then move on and after the anthem’s done we put that aside and get on to football.”
Poe said he has no problem kneeling alone because he knows his teammates are behind and his family and friends are behind him.
He said fighting for social justice is something that is in his heart, and he feels his gameday protests can continue to shine a light on the issue.
“Just because I felt like America, in the whole, wasn’t doing the right thing about stuff that was happening to the people of my color,” Poe said. “I feel like the oppression that’s being had, the racial injustice that is being had, was really unfair and I feel like us as a country can do more. There’s a lot more that I will do. It was just the beginning part of my fight that I want people just to understand where I was coming from. I hope it takes a step in the right direction, but as long as I feel this way I will be taking a knee.”
This story was originally published October 4, 2020 at 12:39 PM.
