Ray Lewis switched sides to kneel for the anthem in London, and people weren’t thrilled about it

Ray Lewis is an NFL analyst for Fox Sports 1 now, and you might remember that earlier this summer he essentially advised the Ravens against signing Colin Kaepernick, falling into the “his protests would make him a distraction” pile of argument tactic.

And now, in London, in the wake of President Trump’s criticism of the NFL and its players, Ray Lewis decided to take a knee alongside Ravens players as the anthem played before the Baltimore-Jacksonville game.

Ravens players, along with Ray Lewis, take a knee during the national anthem in London. pic.twitter.com/TcMnCvj33b

— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) September 24, 2017

The Internet, as you likely guessed, wasn’t too crazy about the flip-flopping:

Ray looks like that one person who shows up at altar call after going a little too hard the night before pic.twitter.com/0n6i0JXhM2

— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 24, 2017

https://twitter.com/ToeKnee2GX/status/911949865386516481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.complex.com%2Fsports%2F2017%2F09%2Fray-lewis-kneels-during-national-anthem-at-ravens-jaguars-game-in-london

https://twitter.com/JulieDiCaro/status/911952634088755200

https://twitter.com/pc_leed/status/911948032555528193

https://twitter.com/CWatkinsTV/status/911948879544938496

And there was plenty more where that came from.

Now, the key thing to remember is that Ray Lewis is entitled to change his mind, as everyone is. And when it comes to issues like these, it’s important not to react too negatively, as that tends to encourage stubborn behavior. Rex Ryan, for example, broke down his decision-making process thusly:

“I’m pissed off I’ll be honest. I supported Trump, and I’m appalled at these comments. SOB’s? Not the men that I know.” – Rex Ryan just now pic.twitter.com/hsJRRktlsv

— Justin Kanew (@Kanew) September 24, 2017

But the issue with Lewis isn’t that people are mocking what they perceive to be a sincere example someone changing their mind in an enlightened fashion. Rather, it’s due to the perception that Lewis is always willing to do what’s popular, without having much of an internal moral compass. (Almost hard to believe.)

And that’s the disconnect; people assume Ray Lewis will flip back around with whichever direction the wind blows. No one on either side respects that kind of behavior.