"I'm certain of how we're handling it," Riley said of allowing Michael Rose-Ivey, Mohamed Barry and DaiShon Neal to kneel during the national anthem last Saturday in protest of police violence against black Americans. Riley said he'd had discussions with athletic director Shawn Eichorst that affirmed his confidence. "It's exactly what we talked about: Everybody can have an opinion. They're entitled to it. I'm not surprised."

When asked if he was disappointed that Ricketts and Daub had criticized the players without talking to them or Riley first, the coach said "I actually do think if they talked to to the players they would have a real good idea."

"That would be totally up to the players," Riley said. "They took an opportunity with a situation to make a point. Which I respect. Within the confines of our team, it was well-respected by our team, and I love that. And all these guys are just beautiful guys who are really thoughtful. When they did that, there was a ton of thought that went into it. I really, truly believe there are tons of opinions across this country about something like this. And I'm not going to worry about that. I have a firm belief about what I think is right and wrong. What other people say, they're certainly entitled to say. I have respect for the fact that they can say it."