Couch: Dantonio among coaches getting it right on anthem protests

EAST LANSING – Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio had no choice but to support his players’ right to protest during the national anthem.

Same for Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, the Golden State Warriors’ Steve Kerr and other football and basketball coaches who’ve been asked about their players’ demonstrations — or likely demonstrations — during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

They either make it clear they understand the players’ side of the issue or they risk losing their team.

What Dantonio and Harbaugh said after their respective games Saturday — after several players on both teams raised their fists during the playing of the anthem — wasn’t simply significant because it was accepting of that personal choice. Their remarks stood out because they were thoughtful and articulate.

Football coaches aren’t noted for their eloquence on social issues. They’re getting better on this one. That’s important. Because it’s not going anywhere — not just the form of protest, but the issue of liberty and justice for all Americans, black Americans and other racial minorities, too.

When San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first began this conversation by sitting and then kneeling for the national anthem during the NFL preseason, coaches, when asked, tended to react by stating their own feelings and grunting through the nuances of a complex social matter. Harbaugh was among them, later apologizing for his initial comments that he didn’t respect Kaepernick’s motivation or his actions.

Coaches also wanted to be on the right side of this issue. And they weren’t clear which side that was. Many people found Kaepernick’s stance disrespectful — many still do. It didn’t help that Kaepernick appeared to lack the sophistication to lead such a movement. As he spoke of the oppression of minorities in this country at a press conference early on, he wore a Fidel Castro T-shirt. That made him hard to take seriously.

But leaders are not always the perfect vessels. And protests often offend people. Change isn’t tidy — especially when it comes to matters of race. Barely more than a month before a presidential election in this country, our two candidates are locked in a virtual dead heat, even though one openly caters to a segment of our population that would just as soon Black people stick to scoring touchdowns and dribbling basketballs.

The playing of the national anthem before games is a time for reflection, a chance to honor and respect the sacrifices of folks who’ve protected this country and its principles. But it is also, arguably, the perfect time to protest, if you don’t feel protected or valued in this country. “The Star-Spangled Banner” is, after all, an anthem that once included a third stanza admonishing former slaves for working for the British army.

We are a long way from being blind to race, from true racial equality. And we’re learning this election cycle, we’re perhaps further than we realized. More than 200 years after Francis Scott Key penned “The Star-Spangled Banner”, we’re still accepting the phrase, “Look at my African-American.”

I can’t pretend to understand the Black experience in this country, no matter how perceptive I might believe I am. I can’t pretend to know fear when being approached by a police officer. I don’t.

Saturday, Dantonio said as much in revealing that he understands what he doesn’t know — the life experiences of his players.

Here is his answer to a question from Detroit News reporter Matt Charboneau about the three MSU players — seniors Delton Williams, Gabe Sherrod and freshman Kenny Lyke — raising a fist during the anthem:

“Your patriotism, your faith are sort of the same,” Dantonio said. “That’s it. That’s your choice. And it’s influenced by what you’ve experienced in this world. And so whether somebody salutes, puts their hand over their heart or does something else, everybody has a choice to make and we’re in college, our young people are in college, and I can promise you one thing, when the flag is presented in some respect, I guess it becomes much more important now. It’s not just, ‘Oh by the way, we’re standing for “The Star-Spangled Banner.”’

“I guess they have decisions that people have to make and as long as it’s done in a peaceful way, this is America. And that’s what the flag stands for — it stands for their freedom to do what you need to do. And that’s the beautiful thing about this country. At some point in time, when the true enemy comes, I guess we’ll all stand together. But I can’t make assumptions for our players for what they’ve gone through in their lives. All I can do is try to lead in the best way I can and be positive and accepting to our football team and our players. And when we come together after the national anthem, we come together with solidarity. And I think that’s what’s important.”

There is so much to this statement — from the added significance of the anthem to a new generation, to the idea that patriotism has nothing to do with nodding along.

Harbaugh, too, answered with clarity and understanding on Saturday.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about this over the last four, five, six weeks,” he told reporters. “Because I am the football coach doesn’t mean I can dictate to people what they believe. I support our guys.

“I think this is something that, it’s not going away, it’s gonna keep happening. It’s not something that’s going to keep them out of heaven. And so I’m not going to really worry about it. … So I support them.”

And, from the Warriors’ Kerr last week, anticipating the possibility of similar stances from his own players and those around the NBA:

“I think it’s probably one of the best things that’s come out of the Kaepernick issue, people are talking. That’s a good thing. No matter what side of the spectrum you’re on, I would hope that every American is disgusted with what’s going on around the country, with what just happened in Tulsa two days ago with (police shooting of) Terence Crutcher. It doesn’t matter what side you’re on on the Kaepernick stuff, you better be disgusted about the things that are happening. And so, I understand people who are offended by his stance. Maybe they have a military family member who’s offended. Maybe they lost somebody in a war. And that flag or that anthem means a lot more to them than someone else. But then you flip it around and what about non-violent protest? It’s American, this is what our country is about, non-violent protest. It’s what it should be about.

“I think Colin (Kaepernick) has really clarified his message over the last couple weeks. Nobody has to be right, nobody has to be wrong. I would hope everybody sort of respects each others points of view. There are valid points of views on both sides. I think Colin, when he met with (teammate) Nate Boyer, and decided to kneel instead of sit, acknowledged his respect for the military and really clarified his message that this is about unarmed black people being killed indiscriminately around the country and it just happened two days ago. That’s the message. That’s what matters. The other stuff, you can talk about all day. Nobody’s right, nobody’s wrong. But that matters and everybody should be trying to do something, whatever’s within their power.”

Steve Kerr, Jim Harbaugh and Mark Dantonio — three of the bigger names in coaching, three white men with a voice, all eloquently on record in support of Black players taking part in a movement.

They might not agree with how it’s being done. They might not have had a choice to support it. But their words matter — words that were forced by civic-mind young people.

Graham Couch can be reached at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.