Question: when did the nfl start playing the national anthem

title: U.S. national anthem protests (2016–present)
text: On November 13 , 2016 , 5 days after Donald Trump was elected President , Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide - receiver Mike Evans decided to sit during the national anthem . According to Sports Illustrated , Evans said , `` If this happens , then America 's not right right now . I said this a long time ago . When he ran , I thought it was a joke , and the joke continues . I 'm not a political person that much , but I got common sense . And I know when something 's not right . '' However , his protest began the day following Veterans Day , so he received criticism . He quickly changed his method of protesting and joined his teammates during the following game against the Kansas City Chiefs . He apologized to veterans and other members of the military for his actions -- citing that the timing of his protest was poor . `` On the field , I 'm going to continue to do what I do -- play hard . I 'm playing hard because I 've got this right -- freedom , because of the vets . I 'm going to reach out to organizations , organizations that I feel are doing the best job to help the minority ... women , LGBT , African Americans , Latinos , people that are in fear of Donald Trump and his presidency . ''