Eagles linebacker Myke Tavarres changes mind on anthem, agent says

Eagles Monday, Eagles undraftedfree agent Myke Tavarresmade headlines when he told ESPN that he planned to join 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in protest of the way the United States treats minorities and refuse to stand during the national anthem before Thursday’s fourth preseason game.

But later Monday, according to ESPN, his agent interjected to stop the protest.

“He plans on standing for the National Anthem,” Tavarres’ agent, Corey Williams, said in a statement Monday. “Myke does not want to be a distraction to the Philadelphia Eagles organization. Myke’s goal is and will always be to make the Eagles 53-man roster and help the team win a Super Bowl.”

Williams said in the report that he spoke out against his client’s original opinion.

The linebacker has an outside shot at landing on the Eagles opening day roster after playing college ball at Incarnate Word. Prior to William’s statement, Tavarres’ opinion was shared about the injustice he sees in this country and the forum that being in the NFL affords him.

“We’ve got an issue in this country in this day and age, and I feel like somebody needs to step up and we all need to step up,” Tavarres told ESPN. “We’ve got that right. There’s just a lot going on that people don’t want to talk about, and I feel like us as athletes, we’re looked at as role models. And I feel like with Colin Kaepernick, he’s doing a great job for standing up in what he believes in, and most people may not like that, but that’s his opinion, he’s entitled to it, and I respect him for doing it.”

Kaepernick, whose career could be inching toward an end in San Francisco, refused to stand prior to his team’s Week 3 preseason game last week. His actions have been divisive, but have also raised the very issue he intended to raise.

Whether or not Tavarres will adhere to the updated statement given by his agent when the players take the field against the Jets at Lincoln Financial Field Thursday night is still an unknown— but it sounds like the player is at least being told he should beprioritizing football and not politics at this time.