This is so stupid, and so certain to backfire on the cause the players are championing, that I’m half-convinced it’s a goof.

If they’re going to withhold a show of respect for America on 9/11 of all days, they might as well toss in a flag-burning too. At least that way they’ll get a shred of credit for really owning their dissent.

Seattle receiver Doug Baldwin said Wednesday he is also considering sitting during the anthem before Sunday’s 1:05 p.m. kickoff at CenturyLink Field while linebacker Bobby Wagner said the team has been talking about a group action…

Wagner said he couldn’t say exactly what the team might do, saying “whatever we decide to do will be a big surprise.”

Baldwin, asked if players besides himself have considered joining Lane, said “our locker room has discussed it. So we’ll see.”…

“Absolutely,” Baldwin said of it the date needs to be taken into consideration when deciding whether to protest. “I think that anybody should be thinking about that. Even if it wasn’t September 11 the point of the protest is to get people to think. I think it’s very ironic to me that 15 years ago on Sept.11 was one of the most devastating times in U.S .history and after that day we were probably the most unified that we have ever been. And today we struggle to see the unity. And it’s very ironic to me that this date is coming up. So it’s going to be a special day, a very significant day, but at the same time I am looking forward to the may changes and differences, the changes we can make in this country to make better changes in our country.”

Baldwin’s going to be surprised when he finds out what, exactly, the protest inspires fans to think about him and his team. As extra kindling here, let it be known that Seahawks coach Pete Carroll just might be a bona fide 9/11 Truther. And this stunt is going to call a lot more media attention to that possibility:

The [2013] sit-down between [Ret. Gen. Peter] Chiarelli and Carroll started off normally enough. They talked about the team, and then about head trauma. Chiarelli, who commanded the American forces in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom II, talked about the brain injuries he had seen there. But Chiarelli’s mention of Iraq sent Carroll in another direction: He wanted to know if the September 11 attacks had been planned or faked by the United States government.

In particular, Carroll wanted to know whether the attack on the Pentagon had really happened. Chiarelli—who was the top-ranking Army official inside the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into its western side—explained that it had. He said he had lost many colleagues. But Carroll didn’t stop there. He ran through the whole 9/11 truther litany.

Accounts differ as to whether the meeting was “fun” or whether Chiarelli was so g-ddamned angry that he had to leave the room. Two years later, USA Today asked Carroll whether he really did confront Chiarelli about 9/11 and how he feels about having become a sort of idol to 9/11 Truthers. His reply: “Any notoriety is good I guess… I will always be interested in the truth, yeah.” Which view do you suppose football fans will take if the protest comes off and Carroll’s views start circulating again? Fun, or g-ddamned angry?

This is a goof, right? It’s a prank the team is playing on Carroll. It can’t be real.

Update: Turns out Seahawks tight end Luke Willson is a moon-landing truther. This team should have its own panel show on Infowars.