I watched some of Villanueva press conference. Actually, he was there only to give a statement and it sounded to me like it was coerced. The poor guy was talking rapidly, as if he had been given all these talking points and he was trying to be sure he remembered them all.
Seems to me these statements/press conferences were all damage control. Unfortunately, it didn't work, IMO. Trying to avoid the controversy? Nah. They were cowards. Villanueva was the only brave one of the bunch and he has been made to look like the coward. He has nothing to be ashamed of, but the rest of the team, the coaches and the owners do.
Speaking of owners, I saw Art Rooney II's statement, and all I could think of was that the old man, Art Rooney, Sr. wouldn't have put up with this cr@p. If he were around today, those players would have been on the field, standing for the anthem.