Titans’ Jurrell Casey says ‘I’ll take my fine’ and protest during the national anthem

The NFL sought to end on-field protests during the national anthem with the adoption of a new rule in May, but Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey says it won’t stop him from continuing to demonstrate.

“I’m going to take a fine this year, why not?” Casey told CNN on Wednesday. “I’m going to protest during the flag. That’s what I’m going to say now.”

Casey, 28, is a three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle and an integral part of the Tennessee defense. He signed a six-year, $60.4 million contract with the Titans in July 2017, but may be subject to fines and punishments from the team if he follows through with his promise to continue protest.

In the last two years, Casey has been one of a few Titans players who has raised his fist during the anthem.

The new NFL national anthem protocol says that a team will be fined “if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show proper respect for the flag and the Anthem.” Players are not subject to league fines, but the Titans would have the option to punish Casey themselves.

New York Jets chairman Christopher Johnson told Newsday that the team wouldn’t fine any Jets players who choose to protest in 2018. The Miami Dolphins won’t be as forgiving.

Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk hasn’t made a similar decree. She did say she’d support players who protest in the locker room and previously rebuked Donald Trump for comments about protesting players.

On Thursday, Titans CEO Steve Underwood said no fine would be levied against Casey if the defensive tackle chooses to protest, although he didn’t say if the Titans would hand down a punishment themselves.

“In the case of Jurrell Casey, I think our head coach (Mike Vrabel) and general manager (Jon Robinson) are interested in having a conversation after he gets back from the United Kingdom,” Underwood told The Tennesseean. ”We think there may be some misunderstanding on his part. Because the new league new policy does not provide anywhere that fines are made against players. If a player doesn’t stand, the teams can be fined, but not the players.

”There are two things that can happen that are considered to be legitimate under the policy: stay in the locker room or you can stand respectfully during the anthem. And it doesn’t apply just to the players; it applies to every employee of ours.

“So, we’re not exactly sure why he suggested that he would, as he put, ‘take his fine’ because there will be no fines levied against him.”

Regardless of if the Titans opt to institute fines for protesting players, Casey says his mind is made up.

“I’m going to take my fine,” Casey said. “It is what it is, I ain’t going to let them stop me from doing what I want to do. If they want to have these battles between players and organizations, this is the way it’s going to be.”

Casey also told CNN that former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick deserves an NFL contract and is getting cut out of the league “just because he is speaking his mind.” Kaepernick has been without a job in the NFL since March 2017 and filed a collusion grievance against the league that is still ongoing.

Casey also wanted to make clear that demonstrations are not a protest of the flag or the national anthem.

“It’s not necessarily about the anthem, that’s where everybody’s messing up,” Casey said. “The way that the justice system treats minorities is the issue that we have.”

Earlier in July, the NFLPA filed a grievance over the NFL’s new anthem policy. But Casey’s refusal to adhere to the new policy again raises the question whether it was even worth instituting in the first place.

A conversation about protests during the anthem was beginning to die out before the NFL stoked the flames again. It reinvigorated players like Casey, who felt disrespected by the policy and the league.

Casey is the first to publicly announce he’ll protest in 2018, but he likely won’t be the last.