Dallas Cowboy players ALL drop to one knee in Trump protest as boos ring out from the stands

The entire Dallas Cowboys team dropped to one knee ahead of an NFL match yesterday as protests against President Donald Trump’s recent comments continued to sweep the US.

Boos rang out around the University of Phoenix Stadium as the team and their owner made a show of unity by kneeling as the flag was carried out before the national anthem was sung.

Their gesture follows a weekend of protesting after President Trump said sporting stars should be fired for demonstrating on the pitch, a move he blasted for being disrespectful to the American flag.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been a staunch supporter of Trump in the past so the speculation was that he would not allow his players to kneel during the national anthem.

"I hope that I'm clear and I hope that our team is clear: We want to respect the flag. Make no mistake about that," Mr Jones said.

"Nothing that we've done, nothing that we did tonight says anything other than that. We also want to as a complete team, as players and an organisation, be able to, whenever we can, demonstrate that unity is important and equality is important.

"That's what I'm so proud of these guys for, they did both and did it in a way when people really stop and think about it, makes a lot of sense."

The team had watched protests across the NFL over the weekend and devised their own way to show solidarity with their colleagues without denigrating the flag.

On Monday evening, they walked onto the field and, arm-in-arm, dropped to their knees as a giant flag was carried onto the field, with Mr Jones and his family in the middle near the 50-yard line.

Boos could be heard from the crowd as the Cowboys kneeled and continued as the players rose and stepped back to the sideline as the flag was unfurled across the field. They remained arm-in-arm as Jordin Sparks sang the national anthem.