TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans admitted Wednesday that he should have thought through the timing of his protest ?of President-elect Donald Trump a bit better. He sat during the national anthem during the Bucs annual Salute to Service game on Sunday, a day honoring active, reserve, retired and veteran service members. He said he never, ever meant to hurt them.If I had to do it over again, I would have done it differently, but I would still use my platform to help, said Evans, one day after changing course and announcing that he would be standing with his teammates during the anthem from now on. He originally said that as long as Trump was president-elect he would not be participating in the national anthem. It was the Salute to Service game ... lking back on it, I probably would have do it a different way.It hits home for a lot of people. This city of Tampa is big in the military, Evans said. I know I hurt a lot of people by doing what I did. I want to apologize again to the people who were really affected by what I did, and to the people who are disappointed in my decision to stand with my teammates: dont worry. From now on, Im gonna continue to use my voice and my platform for minorities rights and Im gonna continue to help the minority.Evans protest was met with a backlash on social media and in the Tampa Bay community, home to MacDill Air Force Base and over 12,000 active military members. Some fans threatened to boycott not just the Bucs but the NFL. One fan even burned his Evans jersey and posted video of it on Facebk. Evans admitted he expected some of the backlash, which also included criticism because he did not vote. Evans said he attempted to but because he is registered in Texas and not Florida, he learned he was unable to. I wont make that mistake again.Some people were saluting me. Some people were showing a lot of evil and a lot of hate. Thats the problem that I have and thats the reason I did what I did, said Evans, who is bi-racial and revealed in an E:60 documentary this year that his mother, who had him when she was 14 and raised him, was the victim of domestic violence. He grew up in Galveston, Texas, which has a Hispanic population of 31 percent. Trump was highly criticized during his campaign for his previous remarks about women and his policies regarding Hispanics immigrating to the U.S.He admitted point-blank that he encountered his own share of racism on social media as the result of his protest.Im half black and half white. Im multi-cultured. I dont believe people should feel that way about other people because were all human beings, Evans said. The way people grow up, it shapes the way they think, the way they do certain things. I grew up mixed by-relation -- white, Hispanic and black. I feel all people are equal.He also admitted that it felt weird to him not to be standing with his teammates Sunday for something he used to lk forward to every time he played.As a kid, man, I used to love standing for the national anthem. I still do love standing for the national anthem because I think of our trps, but most importantly, I think of the American population as a whole and I think of our leader, who our leader is. Theres gonna be some foggy area there but I will stand.Evans teammates came to his defense Wednesday.Defensive tackle Clinton McDonalds grandfather served in the Korean War, his father was an Air Force engineer in the Vietnam War, his uncle is a Vietnam veteran and his brother is in the active duty in the Air Force. He, t, supports Evans right to express himself even though he wasnt aware of his protest at the time it occurred.Mike is a gd friend of mine, hes my teammate, and hes always going to be like that. Im going to support him regardless of what he does, McDonald said. This country fights for freedoms, freedoms such as kneeling, of speaking out about whatever you want to do. Theyre also fighting for standing up and putting your hand over your heart. Those are the same freedoms we uphold. Everybody has their voice of opinion.Quarterback Jameis Winston also chimed in. I talked to him about it. Im definitely on his side. I respect his beliefs, said Winston. Mike is a standup guy -- one of the greatest guys on this ftball team. What he does on the field, what he does off the field, just the type of man he is -- it speaks for itself.Evans, who is currently tied with Jordy Nelson for the most touchdowns among receivers in the NFL, will try to shift his focus to on the field and playing the Kansas City Chiefs this week, but not lose sight of his beliefs.On the field, Im going to continue to do what I do -- play hard. Im playing hard because Ive got this right -- freedom, because of the vets, Evans said. Im going to reach out to organizations, organizations that I feel are doing the best job to help the minority ... women, LGBT, African Americans, Latinos, people that are in fear of Donald Trump and his presidency. Marcus Smart Jersey . Its an influence in ftball and a big part of the game. Larry Bird Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-bill-russell-celtics-jersey/ . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints lked like a team playing out the string. Robert Williams Celtics Jersey . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and tk the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Gordon Hayward Jersey PHILADELPHIA -- After making 29 saves and picking up his first NHL victory, Anthony Stolarz said he never gave much thought about becoming the first New Jersey native to tend goal in the NHL.What Ill remember most is winning, Stolarz said after Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday night. Being able to win your first start is huge for me and my confidence.The 22-year-old native of Edison was backed up by goals from Michael Raffl, Jakub Voracek, Chris VandeVelde, Wayne Simmonds and Roman Lyubimov. The Flyers snapped a two-game losing streak to improve to 10-10-3.T.J. Brodie, Matthew Tkachuk and Alex Chiasson scored for the Flames. They are 10-13-1 overall, and 3-2-0 on a six-game trip that will end Monday night against the New York Islanders.Its the worst we played from the start all season, Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. I give them credit, t. They outworked us, they outplayed us, they were hungrier in all areas and they outpaced us. Were sitting where we should be on this road trip.Stolarz was drafted by the Flyers in the second round in 2012 and had been recalled six other times before making his NHL debut as the tallest goalie (6-ft-6) in Flyers history. He said more than 30 family and friends made the 60-mile drive to see his first NHL game.Stolarz allowed a short-handed goal on the second shot he faced, but stopped the next 23 shots and saw the Flyers take a 4-1 lead into the third period.I didnt want to give up that first goal, but it happens, he said. I guess it was gd to get it out of the way early. I calmed down a little bit and the jitters went away and I was just able to go out and play.The Flames grabbed an early lead when Brodie lifted a short-handed backhander under Stolarzs catching arm for his first goal of the season. It was Calgarys league-leading fourth short-handed goal.The Flyers tied it at 17:42 when Voracek swung around the back of the net and fed Raffl for his fourth goal of the season. Voracek gave the Flyers their first lead of the game 52 seconds into the second period with his firstt power-play goal.dddddddddddd Voraceks intended pass for Wayne Simmonds deflected off Flames defenseman Mark Giordano and over Johnson for his eighth goal of the season.The Flyers made it 4-1 on goals by VandeVelde and Simmonds 24 seconds apart. VandeVelde parked in the slot and redirected a pass from Lyubimov past Johnson for his fourth goal of the season. Shortly after the ensuing faceoff, Simmonds broke away from the Calgary defense and put a backhander past Johnson for his team-high 11th goal.The most disappointing part of tonight is we got out of the first and they came out in the second and scored a bunch of goals in a short amount of time, Giordano said.Its a disappointing loss, but we have back-to-back games and weve got to finish this trip off on the right note. If we win tomorrow (in New York) its a 4-2 trip and thats a gd trip.The Flames drew to 4-2 8:05 into final period on Tkachuks sixth goal of the season, but Lyubimov restored the Flyers three-goal lead with his fourth goal of the season off a Michael Del Zotto rebound.Chiasson scored the Flames second short-handed goal of the night with 1:50 remaining.To be honest, I think (the Flames) were a little bit tired and we tk advantage of it, Voracek said. (Stolarz) made a key save in the second period when it was 2-1. It was gd to see him get his first win.Gulutzan, whose team played its fifth game in eight nights, said there are no excuses for his players performance.Theres no system for being outworked, he said.Game notes Flyers C Claude Giroux moved into 10th on the Flyers all-time scoring list with his 536th point, an assist on a second-period goal by Voracek. . Flyers D Brandon Manning sat out with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Michael Del Zotto. ... Flames RW Kris Versteeg returned to the lineup after missing 10 of the previous 11 games.UP NEXTFlyers: Host Boston on Tuesday night.Flames: Visit the New York Islanders on Monday night. ' ' '