The Patriots took different approaches as the National Anthem played on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Many, including safety and captain Devin McCourty, took a knee. Others stood and linked arms.
A league source has told CSN's Gary Tanguay that every Patriots player will stand for the anthem prior to Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers.
Patriots captain Devin McCourty explained that Saturday was an emotional day for him and his teammates as they tried to determine how best to react to Trump's comments, which referred to players kneeling during the anthem as "sons of bitches" who should lose their jobs.
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"We were obviously very conflicted," he said. "We knew our message would be perceived by a lot of people in a way that wasn’t what we were trying to put out. A lot of guys felt, I mean, all over the place about the comments by the President Friday night. As a leader on the team, a lot of guys came to me and they didn’t know what to do. They just were kind of angry.
New England Patriots
"It was good Saturday. We all kind of talked as a group of releasing that anger and not being angry. We were in chapel and a lot of guys talked about that in our faith, God is first. We wanted to come together."