Broncos' Marshall dumped by sponsor after protesting during national anthem

Brandon Marshall is facing the consequences of his decision to kneel during the national anthem

Less than 24 hours after protesting during the national anthem, Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall is already facing some backlash.

Marshall's decision to kneel during the anthem has cost him an endorsement deal with Air Academy Federal Credit Union. The company announced on Friday that it's severing all ties with the Broncos linebacker.

"Although we have enjoyed Brandon Marshall as our spokesperson over the past five months, Air Academy Federal Credit Union (AAFCU) has ended our partnership," the AAFCU said in a statement. "AAFCU is a membership-based organization who has proudly served the military community for over 60 years. While we respect Brandon's right of expression, his actions are not a representation of our organization and membership. We wish Brandon well on his future endeavors."

Marshall is the first player who's lost an endorsement deal over his decision to protest. Colin Kaepernick, Jeremy Lane and Eric Reid have also been protesting during the national anthem over the past two weeks.

For Marshall, the decision to protest came at the last second.

"I thought about it all the way up until when the lady was going to start singing," Marshall said after the game, via Yahoo.com. "I was like, hmm, they're going to get on me. At the end of the day, I'm definitely good with my decision."

Although the AAFCU specifically mentioned the military in its statement, Marshall said after Denver's 21-20 win that he has no issues with the military.

"I'm against social injustice," Marshall said. "I'm not against the military, the police or America at all. I'm against social injustice. I felt this was the right thing to do."

As for why he made the decision to protest, Marshall says he the chance to be seen by millions of viewers was the perfect time to do it.

"This is the right platform," Marshall said. "This is our only platform to be heard. I think a lot of times people want us to just shut up and entertain them, shut up and play football. But we have issues as well. We're educated individuals who went to college. When we have an opinion, I feel like a lot of people bash us for it."

Losing an endorsement deal wasn't the only blowback Marshall received. Many Twitter users cheered after the Broncos linebacker suffered an injury and had to be evaluated for a concussion during the second quarter of Denver's win.