I like it.
There was once a tried and true method in professional sports regarding players who got too full of themselves. In baseball, pitchers throw AT the player. In football, coverage/blocking is “mis-read” and passes are under-run/dropped.
All it takes is for a large number of patriotic players, regardless of color, to:
a). Tell the coach you aren’t willing to play alongside such protestors. Ask him to bench you.
b). Contract a bout of “food poisoning” on Saturday evening. Ipecac is a good stage prop.
c). Purposefully fail a concussion test early in the game.
or,
d). Retire early (and make a comeback)
Soon enough, the protesting players will be in a meaningful game alongside the practice squad.