Titans Player's Wife Says Her Husband Was Tricked Into Sitting Out the National Anthem

Bryan Michalek | September 26, 2017
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Singer Jesse James Decker, wife of Tennessee Titans wide receiver Eric Decker, took to Instagram this week in defense of the National Anthem, claiming her husband was essentially tricked into sitting it out during last Sunday's Titans and Seahawks game.

Initially, Mrs. Decker posted a photo of herself gearing up to perform the National Anthem along with the following caption:

"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."

The singer also responded to comments about her own husband not being present during the game's National Anthem. 

"Sadly he wasn't made aware that a decision had been made for him until he came out and it was over," she wrote. "If he had known, he would have been out there hand over heart. Unfortunately he wasn't made aware it was time to head out to the field as they always do every game."

Eric Decker responded to his wife's words on Instagram, saying simply, "Preach baby." 

Decker's Instagram post flies in the face of a claim by the Tennessee Titans, who released a statement of their own claiming their decision to remain in the locker room on Sunday was a team decision:

"As a team, we wanted to be unified in our actions today. The players jointly decided this was the best course of action. Our commitment to the military and our community is resolute and the absence of our team for the national anthem shouldn't be misconstructed as unpatriotic."

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