LINCOLN, Neb. -- A Nebraska football player who took a knee during the national anthem before the game at Northwestern on Saturday night said he and his family have received racially charged criticism on social media, and said the responses show why the protest is necessary.Senior linebacker Michael Rose-Ivey read an impassioned statement during the Cornhuskers weekly media availability on Monday. Freshmen Mohamed Barry and DaiShon Neal joined Rose-Ivey on one knee in protest of racial injustice and police brutality.Former high school classmates, friends, peers and some Huskers fans swiftly criticized the group on Facebook and Twitter, Rose-Ivey said.Some believe DaiShon, Mohamed and myself should be kicked off the team or suspended, while some said we deserved to be lynched or shot just like the other black people who have died recently. Others believe we should be hung before the anthem before the next game. These are actual statements we receive from fans, he said.Rose-Ivey said the players were joining in solidarity with San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other professional and amateur athletes who are kneeling or otherwise protesting unfair treatment of blacks in the United States.The opportunity to use the platform was rare for the Huskers. Like many college teams, they are in the locker rooms during the anthem at Nebraska home games. At Northwestern, players are traditionally on the field. Rose-Ivey said he told coach Mike Riley and his team about his plans ahead of the game, and Riley supported him.As the group took a knee, four of his teammates spontaneously helped the Northwestern band and others hold a giant U.S. flag over the field when there werent enough people to keep it up. Zack Darlington said he and fellow sophomore Nick Gates, junior Drew Brown and senior Sam Hahn were together on the sideline when they noticed the flag drooping.I dont think any of us who held the flag did it to go out there and overshadow anyone, Darlington said. We were just standing there, and it looked like it was going to fall. I got nervous. I didnt want it to touch the ground. I know how sacred our flag is, so I wasnt going to let it touch the ground -- not on my watch.Darlington said he didnt disagree with the cause, just the method of protest.Everyone can see there are a lot of African-American people being killed today, which makes people nervous, Darlington said. There are other ways possibly to protest that wouldnt disrespect our veterans and military and our country. I dont think they did it in spite of the military or of our veterans. I know they love this country. Its something they want to bring attention to, and I think rightly so.Riley said with 140 players on the roster there will be a wide range of opinions about the anthem protest.We have guys from all kinds of backgrounds, all parts of the country, we have a real nice -- and I love it -- melting pot, Riley said. And then you also have a bunch of kids who are in college, where you gain a whole new awareness of the world as you go, and you start to form those opinions that are going to make you who you are for the rest of your life.Rose-Ivey quoted Martin Luther King, referenced other civil rights champions and said it would be wrong for him to not speak out with his voice or by kneeling during the anthem.We did it understanding the implications of these actions, Rose-Ivey said, but what we didnt expect was the enormous amount of hateful, racially motivated comments we received from friends, peers, fans and members of the media about the method of protest.He said the reactions further underscore the need for this protest and give us just a small glimpse into the persistent problem of race, racism in this country and the divisive mentality of some Americans.Rose-Ivey said a number of people also sent him messages of support. That feels good, because it seems like the negative outweighs the positive, he said.---On the Net:AP college football website: http://collegefootball.ap.org Nike Vapormax Wholesale . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Nike Vapormax Plus Wholesale . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. http://www.wholesalevapormaxaustralia.com/ . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Wholesale Vapormax Australia .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Discount Nike Vapormax . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Nearly 2 + months after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, hundreds of workers still havent been paid and are planning to sue the local organizing committee to get their money.Among those late getting paid are about 100 freelance contractors who worked as stadium announcers, show producers and DJs, and several hundred others who worked for the Olympic News Service, which produced written summaries about the sports and athletes at the Olympics and subsequent Paralympics.Im working with a legal firm that is already representing someone involved with Rio 2016, so they have a pretty good handle what is going on, Rocky Bester, a South African freelance show producer, told The Associated Press in an interview.Bester, a spokesman for the 100 contractors, said hes never experienced such problems at previous Olympics. This was his seventh, and he said all hes received from Rio organizers is silence and excuses.Weve had robust conversations at other Olympics about payments, but its always been an open conversation, Bester said. What is happening here is that no one is talking back. Were sitting in the dark. Were mushrooms at the moment.He termed it a basic lack of respect.Rio Olympic officials blamed the delays on late payments from their own sponsors, the Rio city hall and the International Olympic Committee.We are paying, but not all the money we need to have for payments has been received, Rio spokesman Mario Andrada told The Associated Press. We are struggling a bit in making the ends meet.Cash-flow problems, budget cuts and cost overruns dogged organizers throughout the run-up to the Olympics. As the games opened on Aug. 5, organizers needed millions in a bailout from the city and federal governments, breaking a promise to use only private money to fund the $2.8 billion operating budget.The amounts owed the freelancers are relatively modest. Bester declined to offer figures but said hed been paid about half of what he was owed, but said others have received nothing. He said many are living off credit cards, running up high-interest debt.The guys who are suffering are the youngsters, Bester said. Its their first Olympic Games, its a prestigious thing..ddddddddddddThe last thing that is going to enter their head is they are not going to get paid.Bester said some contractors were asked to buy their own air tickets, and many have not been reimbursed.Andrada, the Rio organizing committee spokesman, said several first-class international sponsors owe organizers, but he declined to name them.Some of the payment delays were due to a monthlong strike at Brazilian banks, which ended Oct. 7, Andrada said. Reports that organizers were slow to pay bills created a herd movement with creditors putting pressure on us, he added.Andrada estimated that Rio organizers owed creditors in the area of 100 million Brazilian reals ($32 million).He said the organizing committee had downsized from 5,000 employees when the games opened to about 400. The entity will be dissolved next year with only lawyers remaining to settle any disputed claims.Others have blamed some problems on outgoing Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, who was credited by the IOC with driving the games. He seems to have moved on from Olympic problems.Paes office said he is headed to New Yorks Columbia University on a short-term teaching assignment when he leaves office at the end of the year. His hand-picked candidate to succeed him -- Pedro Paulo -- was badly beaten in an October election.Paes committed a reserve fund of 150 million reals ($47 million) to help pay organizing committee debts. Now he appears to have backed off.Well meet our obligations as long as we have the resources, and they are really needed. To do this, the organizing committee needs to show us their audited expenses, Paes told the Rio newspaper O Globo.The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo has also reported that thousands of fans have yet to receive payments for ticket refunds. Some who have been reimbursed say the amounts dont match what they believe they are owed.Everybody will be paid, Andrada said. The trouble is the delay. We will pay the money.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade ' ' '