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Two conservative radio hosts alleged on 28 September 2017 that members of the Oakland Raiders may purposefully put quarterback Derek Carr in harm's way for not taking part in a protest carried out by several black players -- a claim later picked up by several web sites. Hosts Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty claimed to have insider information concerning the performance of the Raiders' offensive line -- the only one in the National Football League comprised entirely of African-American players -- in a 27-10 loss to Washington four days earlier. According to Armstrong and Getty, an extremely reliable source on the team divulged to them that the offensive linemen allowed Carr to be sacked (tackled before he could throw the ball) in retaliation for his refusal to join them in protesting during the playing of the national anthem before the game. Carr was sacked four times during the game, which Armstrong and Getty claim is outside the norm. Getty first claimed that Carr (who is white) was sacked once during the 2016 season before amending his argument: In reality, Carr was sacked 16 times during the previous season -- one of which resulted in a season-ending broken fibula. In 2015 he was sacked 31 times, and in 2014 it happened 24 times. Armstrong added: The hosts stated several times that they did not know if the allegations of Deep Route (as they called their alleged source) were true. According to them, however, the source claimed to have heard an offensive line member say of Carr, If he wants to stand alone for the national anthem, he can stand alone on the field. Armstrong said: Getty added: However, the two hosts mentioned several times that the allegation had not been verified. Willard Ogan, the assignment manager for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area -- one of several local news outlets that regularly covers the team -- scoffed at the pair's story. He told us: He added that there was a logical flaw in the argument that Carr's offensive line willfully let him be sacked : Regarding the allegation that a team official had threatened to cut off access to the team for an unnamed reporter, Ogan said that the Raiders have never threatened to blackball his station: Most of the team, including the offensive line (but not Carr), took part in a protest before the game, an offshoot of former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel during the anthem prior to games during the 2016 season to protest extrajudicial killings carried out by police against communities of color. U.S. Army veteran Nate Boyer has confirmed that he helped Kaepernick decide to carry out his protest in that format, rather than sitting during the anthem. Raiders offensive tackle Donald Penn said that their demonstration was a direct response to President Donald Trump's call in September 2017 for NFL owners to fire any player who took part. Penn said: He also said: Penn's linemate Marshall Newhouse, however, attributed the protest to a wider range of issues: Tackle Kelechi Osemele also faced accusations on his Instagram page that he and his linemates allowed Carr to be sacked. He responded: When asked whether the protest had an impact on the Raiders' performance, Carr said: The offensive line did not repeat the protest during the team's following game in Denver on 1 October 2017. Only one player on either squad -- Oakland running back Marshawn Lynch -- sat during the anthem, as he has done throughout the 2017 season. Carr suffered an injury after being sacked during the 1 October game. He was initially expected to miss between two and six weeks of action. But Ogan told us that he took part in the team's regular practice on 5 October 2017. We contacted both the Raiders and the National Football League seeking comment on Armstrong and Getty's allegations. We also contacted several other media outlets in the Bay Area about the duo's allegation that the team threatened to blackball a local reporter. We had not received a response by press time.
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