Raiders Marshawn Lynch appeared to stage a silent protest before Oakland’s preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday, taking a seat during the playing of the national anthem.
AP photographers snapped Lynch taking a seat on a cooler on the sidelines as the anthem played.
Lynch’s apparent protest comes in wake of this weekend’s violent white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Va. and falls in line with what Colin Kaepernick started around the NFL last season as players found ways to protest racism and police brutality during the playing of the anthem before games.
In Charlottesville, white nationalists with torches marched, chanted racial slurs and attacked counter-protestors in Charlottesville on Friday and Saturday. The situation escalated and resulted in one person’s death and 19 injured after a car driven by an angry member of a white nationalist groupplowed over another group of counter-protestors. LeBron James is chief among a number of other athletes who have spoken up against the violent, racist rhetoric on display.
Lynch came out of a one-year retirement to join his hometown Raiders this season. He is expected to play a major role for the team this year.
