Lions' Levy, Bademosi take part in Women's March

DeAndre Levy continues to use his platform to voice his opinion on social issues. The Detroit Lions linebacker traveled to Washington D.C. over the weekend to participate in the Women’s March.

The event drew hundreds of thousands of participants to the nation’s capital, with hundreds of thousands more taking part in similar demonstrations in other states and countries. It was designed to voice the continued demand for women’s rights, including equal pay and access to birth control, and spills over into broader calls for racial equality and immigration reform.

The rally was intentionally designed to immediately follow the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Levy, who has been a vocal supporter for an increasing number of social issues, posted a photo of himself holding a sign outside the U.S Capitol reading “Dissent is Patriotic.” His caption on the photo read, “When it's post inauguration and you can still smell the misogyny in the air.”

In addition to the Women’s March, Levy has supported multiple causes in Detroit, including raising money for the processing of more than 10,000 untested rape kits, promoting black-owned businesses, and participating in benefits for youth leadership programs in the city.

“A lot of (NFL players) are selling themselves as a brand, so they ignore what’s happening around them,” Levy told the Detroit News in October.  “I can’t do that. This platform is bigger than us. Once this ends, we still have to operate in this world. This is the biggest the platform is ever going to get for most of us. We have to use it for good.”

Levy didn’t respond to a request for comment on his participation in the Women’s March. He also wasn’t the only Lions player in D.C. for the event.

Cornerback Johnson Bademosi also posted a photo from the rally. His photo was of an unidentified protester holding a sign saying, “Claustrophobics and Introverts for Equality.” Bademosi’s caption announced, “We're here. All 500,000 of us #WomansMarch.”

Bademosi uploaded another photo from the march on Monday with the caption: "Most of my lifelong supporters have been women, who have taken every opportunity to march for me. Support those who support you. #WomansMarch #WhyIMarch."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @justin_rogers