Jessie James Decker Says Eric Decker ‘Wasn’t Made Aware’ of Tennessee Titans’ Decision to Protest National Anthem

After the Tennessee Titans decided to stay inside during the singing of the National Anthem on Sunday (Sept. 24), Jessie James Decker stood up for her husband Eric Decker on Instagram on a number of comments geared toward their patriotic opinions.

Several NFL teams and players created a nationwide protest during “The Star-Spangled Banner” before playing their games on Sunday, with the Titans releasing a statement that they were to join along in the protest. As a member of the Tennessee football franchise, Eric Decker took one with the team but Jessie James Decker shared her countering thoughts through a reflective Instagram message.

One of my favorite things to do is sing the national anthem. I think about my dad, my uncles, my cousins, both grandfathers who fought in the Vietnam war. I think about how my grandfather paw paw Tim would ask me to sing this song for him every time I saw him and how he would make me turn the other way to sing it so he could just weep and cry as hard as he wanted because it meant so much to him. I think about all of our troops I got to visit with and spend time with in the Middle East when I went over seas to sing for them. I think about all of the men crying because they missed their wives so much, or the man telling me he hadn’t seen his baby girl yet since she was born. When I sing this song I think about them. This song is about them. It’s not about me. That’s what I think about every time I sing it. I love our country so much. And we should all love and respect each other because this is the greatest country in the world. I see the love. I see the unity in all walks of life on a daily basis and It makes me so proud to be an American….. so In the words of Forrest Gump. That’s all I have to say about that.

A post shared by Jessie James Decker (@jessiejamesdecker) on Sep 25, 2017 at 6:23am PDT

“One of my favorite things to do is sing the national anthem,” Decker captioned the performance video. “I think about my dad, my uncles, my cousins, both grandfathers who fought in the Vietnam war. I think about how my grandfather paw paw Tim would ask me to sing this song for him every time I saw him and how he would make me turn the other way to sing it so he could just weep and cry as hard as he wanted because it meant so much to him. I love our country so much. And we should all love and respect each other because this is the greatest country in the world. I see the love. I see the unity in all walks of life on a daily basis and it makes me so proud to be an American.”

Fans weighed in on her stance, and Jessie James Decker stood her own by giving her husband’s thoughts on his behalf.

“Sadly he wasn’t made aware that a decision had made for him until he came out and it was over,” Decker said in response to a fan’s comment made on her Instagram post.

She seconded her feelings by stating that she knows Eric would have been standing on the field listening to the performance if he would have been given the option beforehand.

“If he had known he would have been out there hand over heart. Unfortunately, he wasn’t made aware it was time to head to the field as they always do every game,” the singer replied to another comment from a fan.

The couple has not given an official statement about their protest standings at this time.