Pence Leaves NFL Game in Response to Players Kneeling During Anthem

Pence and his wife Karen were among the spectators in Indianapolis for a contest between the Colts and San Francisco 49ers. After more than 20 San Francisco players took a knee for the song, he left, he said. He issued a statement on Twitter at 1:08 p.m.—shortly after kickoff—explaining his decision.

“I left today’s Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem,” he said.

“At a time when so many Americans are inspiring our nation with their courage, resolve, and resilience, now, more than ever, we should rally around our Flag and everything that unites us,” he added later in a follow-up statement, part of a lengthy set of tweets in the aftermath. He concluded it with a picture of him and the Second Lady standing with their hands over their hearts as the anthem was performed—different from a photo of the pair he tweeted prior to the game that was represented to be from today, but was actually tweeted in 2014.

Trump said Tuesday afternoon that he asked Pence to leave if the kneeling continued. That seemed to be an inevitability, as the Niners have been among the most active teams protesting throughout the season, a point made by San Francisco safety Eric Reid after the game.

“He knew our team has had the most players protest. He knew that we were probably going to do it again. This is what systemic oppression looks like. A man with power comes to the game, tweets a couple things out and leaves the game in an attempt to thwart our efforts,” Reid said. “Based on the information I have, that’s the assumption I made.”

Pence was also criticized by his home state’s paper for his actions. Tim Swarens, the opinion editor of the Indianapolis Star—which typically skews right in its editorializing—said the VP’s walkout was “choreographed and rehearsed,” given that he should’ve known what to expect.

“The vice president chose to attend Sunday’s game fully knowing what was likely to transpire. He should have stayed away or stayed in his seat for the game. Instead, he chose to run a political play that shouldn’t have been in the game plan,” Swarens wrote.

Pence’s behavior was in-line with Trump’s position on the contentious cultural issue, though his words had the careful calibration of professional political speech, unlike the president’s crude riffing. Trump has sounded off about kneeling players, infamously calling any of them who do so a “son of bitch” at a rally for Sen. Luther Strange in Alabama two weeks ago. The protests were widespread that weekend and have continued in lesser numbers since.