Dolphins Players Kneel, Seahawks Link Arms For National Anthem Protest In 12-10 Seattle Win

The opening day of the regular NFL season was marked by a series of political statements in the form of actions, beginning with a protest by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, who raised a black-gloved fist during the national anthem.

Dolphins Players Kneel, Seahawks Link Arms For National Anthem Protest In 12-10 Seattle Win

The protest was followed by the Miami Dolphins, who knelt on the sideline with hands on their hearts as “The Star Spangled Banner” played before their 12-10 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle Sunday evening.

Not all of the Dolphins chose to kneel or place their hands on their hearts. Linebacker Jelani Jenkins and running back Arian Foster both kneeled, but did not place a hand over their hearts. Michael Thomas and Kenny Stills also kneeled while President Barack Obama’s message regarding the 9/11 attacks played, but then stood at the conclusion of the anthem.

The Seahawks players and coaches, meanwhile, chose to stand and link arms “in a pre-game demonstration of unity,” according to a tweet wide receiver Doug Baldwin sent Thursday to announce the protest.

The protests were inspired by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who became the first NFL player to kneel during the playing of the national anthem during a pre-season game to express his discontent with what he called “the oppression of black people and people of color.”

Kaepernick’s move spurred nation-wide controversy, and despite being harshly mocked and criticized by many notable athletes, he also received praise from several military veterans, President Obama, and other NFL players as well, including Foster, who said that although he doesn’t see the move as an actual solution to anything, he supports Kaepernick’s right to protest.

“I chose to get involved to see if I could create change, raise awareness. And I want to make it clear that there is no disrespect to the military or to police officers —I’m not about that. I love everyone,” said i Jenkins. “I would like to keep moving forward in the right direction with everybody: equal rights, equal opportunity. From my position, it doesn’t seem that it’s happening. That’s why I took a stand.”

The protests took on even more meaning since they came on the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks.

“I come from a majority black community from Oakland, California … so the struggle, I seen it,” Peters said after the Chiefs beat San Diego 33-27 in overtime. “I still have some family in the struggle. All I’m saying is we want to educate those, the youth that’s coming up.”

Foster also commented on people’s anger over the act of kneeling, and emphasized the message behind that action.

“If it’s about the knee that people are upset about, every Sunday people of faith take a knee to give thanks to their lord and savior, whatever faith or religion that they are,” Foster said. “It’s not about a knee, it’s not about the (symbolism), it’s about the message. They say it’s not the time to do this, but when is the time?”

Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall , a teammate of Kaepernick’s in college at Nevada, took a knee during the anthem on Thursday night.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell weighed in on Kaepernick’s protest last week as well, saying, “I don’t necessarily agree with what he’s doing.”

Baldwin also said he and his teammates are working to schedule a meeting with the mayor of Seattle and local law enforcement.

“We know that there has to be change and progress,” Baldwin said. “Change is inevitable. Change will always happen. But you got to apply direction to change, and that’s when it’s progress. And so right now what we’re doing as a team, we have a follow through.”

Peters’ gesture was also a tribute of sorts to U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympics. Both then appeared on the medal stands with raised, black-gloved fists throughout the U.S. national anthem in what they called a “human rights salute.”

The International Olympic Committee ordered Smith and Carlos expelled from the games because of the protest.

Hobbled by an ankle injury, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson pulled off another late rally, throwing a two-yard touchdown pass to Baldwin with 31 seconds remaining to lead his team to the victory over Miami on Sunday.

“We looked after him a little bit. We weren’t sure what he could do,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “We didn’t want to tax him too much.”

In the fourth quarter, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill went on an 86-yard touchdown drive that gave Miami a 10-6 lead with 4:08 remaining.

That’s when Wilson stepped up his game, playing on a right ankle he injured in the third quarter after he was sacked by Ndamukong Suh. Seattle converted fourth-and-1 early in the drive on a 7-yard run by Christine Michael, but the big play was Wilson finding Baldwin for 22 yards on a crossing route on fourth-and-4 near midfield.

SEATTLE, WA – SEPTEMBER 11: Members of the Seattle Seahawks are seen together during the playing of the National Anthem before the start of an NFL game against the Miami Dolphins at CenturyLink Field on September 11, 2016 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)