NFL Receiver Mike Evans To Protest National Anthem After Trump's Election

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) runs away from Washington Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland (26) during the first half of an NFL football game in Landover, Md. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Athletes have protested the National Anthem this summer and fall to speak out against police brutality, and another NFL player plans to do the same after last week's presidential election of Donald Trump.

Mike Evans, a wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sat during the anthem on Sunday, and said he would continue to. Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears was the Bucs' annual "Salute To Service" game for Veterans Day. Evans said that while he is "forever indebted" to veterans, that the election and the social injustice in this country are too much to ignore.

"The things that’s been going on in America lately, I’m not going to stand for that. When Ashton Kutcher comes out and says we’ve been punked, then I’ll stand again. But I won’t stand anymore,” Evans said. “If this happens, then America’s not right, right now. I said this a long time ago. When [Donald Trump] ran, I thought it was a joke, and the joke continues."

Kaepernick jumpstarted the protests in the NFL by sitting and then kneeling to take a stand against police brutality and racial injustice. Evans distinguished his reason from Kaepernick's, but added a sentiment that many people have felt within the past week.

“I'm doing it for a different reason, for how a reality star can be the president. That's not a good look," he said. "...I’m not a political person that much, but I got common sense. And I know when something’s not right."

"It's not about the Republican party or the Democratic party or anything like that," he continued. "It's just who he is. It's well-documented what he's done. I'm not gonna stand for something I don't believe in. That's the end of that."