BROOKFIELD -- Three Green Bay Packers players chose to sit downduring the national anthem before Sunday's game, joining dozens of other players in the NFL in a league-wide protest of social injustices in the United States.
The rest of the Packers team stood up and locked arms. The protests are also largely in response to remarks made by President Donald Trump on Friday.
Trump spoke about the issue of kneeling during the anthem, using a derogatory term for athletes who do soand saying NFL teams should fire those players. He continued his statement of that on Twitter Saturday and Sunday.
The action has drawn mixed reactions from local fans.
"I don't like to talk about politics or religion," said Earl Cooper from Milwaukee. "But if I dove in to it, I think they do have a right to express themselves peacefully and I respect them doing it peacefully."
Over in Brookfield, some fans at Champps Americana disagreed with the players protest.
"I don't see how you take free speech and turn it against America," said Don Adelmund who served in the U.S. Army. "These players, they get paid a lot of money and they completely don't understand the veteran point of view on this whole situation."
Some fans like Wendy Kubisiak, said she believes in their right to protest, she just doesn't think football games are the place to do it.
"I think that when they're in uniform and out there, they're representing the NFL and the whole team, they should keep it off the field, they have a right to do it but they should keep it off the field," she said.
Aaron Rodgers responded to the protests on Instagram, posting a photo of himself kneeling with teammates at practice.
