owl pregame show in response to the NFL’s rejection for AMVETS’ ad.

DETROIT (AP) — Wally Triplett David Montgomery Jersey , the trailblazing running back who was one of the first African-Americans drafted by an NFL team, has died. He was 92.The Detroit Lions and Penn State announced Triplett’s death Thursday. Triplett was the third African-American selected in the 1949 draft, but he was the first of those draftees to play in a regular-season game. He played in 24 games for the Lions and Chicago Cardinals.Triplett was also the first African-American to start for Penn State, and in 1948, he and teammate Dennie Hoggard became the first African-Americans to play in the Cotton Bowl .“This is a tremendous loss for not only our football program, but the Penn State community as a whole,” Penn State coach James Franklin said in a statement. “Wally was a trailblazer as the first African-American to be drafted and play in the NFL, and his influence continues to live on. He had a profound effect on me and the team when he visited in 2015 and shared valuable lessons from his life story and ability to overcome.”Triplett was inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame this year http://www.bearsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-riley-ridley-jersey , and his appearance in that game is part of Penn State lore. According to the school, the team was asked to consider the possibility of leaving Triplett and Hoggard at home for the game in then-segregated Dallas. Teammates responded by saying: “We are Penn State, there will be no meetings” — a reference to a previous Penn State team that voted to cancel a game at segregated Miami.The story remains an important part of Penn State history, especially given the school’s well-known “We Are” moniker.Triplett was drafted by the Lions in the 19th round in 1949. He played in 18 games for Detroit from 1949-50. On Oct. 29, 1950, against the Los Angeles Rams, he had 294 yards on four kickoff returns, an NFL record that lasted until 1994.“As the first African-American to be drafted and to play in the National Football League Jonah Williams Jersey , Wally is one of the true trailblazers in American sports history. He resides among the great men who helped reshape the game as they faced the challenges of segregation and discrimination,” the Lions said in a statement. “His contributions date back to his days at Penn State as the Nittany Lions‘ first African-American starter and varsity letter winner, highlighted by his appearance in the first integrated Cotton Bowl. Wally’s legacy also reaches beyond breaking color barriers, having served in the United States Army during the Korean War.”George Taliaferro was the first black player drafted in the NFL when he went six rounds before Triplett in 1949. Taliaferro also died recently . The debate over whether the NFL should let players kneel during the national anthem flared up in state government this week as some legislators and a governor disparaged the league.

Georgia senators unanimously passed a resolution Thursday denouncing the NFL for allowing players to kneel but not letting a veterans group advertise in the printed game program for the Super Bowl. South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster issued a proclamation designating the day of the big game as ”Stand for the Flag Super Bowl Sunday.” In Tennessee, a Republican legislator running for governor said she would run an ad during the pregame show saying: ”It’s too bad that the league doesn’t respect the patriotism of our national anthem.”

The on-the-field protests started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick have waned this season but the controversy hasn’t. President Donald Trump alluded to his public spat with the NFL in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, saying that paying tribute to the flag is a ”civic duty.”

The resolution in Georgia, introduced by Republican Sen. David Shafer, who is running for lieutenant governor Elgton Jenkins Jersey , called the league hypocritical for allowing players to kneel but not allowing an ad from the veterans group AMVETS.

”The National Football League has abandoned even the pretense of supporting free speech and dissent, silencing a major veterans’ organization while condoning organized disrespect and contempt for the Flag of the United States and the National Anthem,” the resolution says.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the game program has never been a place for advertising what some might consider to be a political statement.

”The NFL has long supported the military and veterans and will again salute our service members in the Super Bowl with memorable on-field moments that will be televised as part of the game,” McCarthy said.

The words ”Please Stand” figured prominently in the ad, and McCarthy said AMVETS declined to consider alternatives, such as ”Please Stand for our Veterans.” He said the NFL did approve a Veterans of Foreign Wars ad saying ”We Stand for Veterans.”

Georgia’s Senate minority leader, Democrat Steve Henson, accused his Republican colleagues of slipping the resolution through in a deceptive manner. ”Many members of the body had concerns about this issue and how it was rushed to a vote without notice http://www.packerscheapshoponline.com/cheap-authentic-jace-sternberger-jersey ,” Henson said.

In Tennessee, Republican Rep. Diane Black will run an ad during the Super Bowl pregame show in response to the NFL’s rejection for AMVETS’ ad.

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Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,