Before the start of the regular season, Ben McAdoo said he would "be disappointed" if one of his New York Giants' players chose to not stand for the national anthem.

"The way we operate for the national anthem, we consider it a small gesture to those that served and sacrificed their lives for our country and for us to play and coach in this great game," said McAdoo. "Part of that is the freedom of speech and we certainly respect that, and we talk to our guys about keeping empathy in mind when they do lead and use this league as a platform.

"But I'd be disappointed if one of our guys chose not to stand. It's their choice. It's not mandatory. But we feel it's important."

McAdoo took a more supportive stance when it came to Josh Brown, who has admitted to abusing his ex-wife.

"We're not going to turn our back on Josh," McAdoo said. "He's our teammate."

Earlier in the summer, McAdoo said he expressed his support as a man, father and player.