FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Houston Texans left tackle Duane Brown raised his fist during the national anthem Thursday night at Gillette Stadium before the Texans faced the New England Patriots to bring more attention to racial inequality and oppression.
Brown, who is inactive with a knee injury, had not previously participated in a protest during the anthem at Texans games. He is the first Texans player to do so.
On Aug. 26, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick gained attention for sitting during the national anthem during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. Kaepernick said he sat because of the oppression of people of color and issues with police brutality. In following games, including Monday night, Kaepernick elected to kneel instead of sitting during the anthem.
Several other players across the league have also participated by kneeling, raising a fist or interlocking arms with teammates during the national anthem before games.
"Just a symbol of my support and raising awareness for the recent killings of unarmed black men, I think it's something that needs to be changed," Brown said. "I was just showing my support. It's frustrating. I've showed my position. It keeps happening, so it's very frustrating.
"I know it's not a comfortable topic, it's not comfortable for everybody to see it," Brown said when asked about the reaction to his protest. "It comes from a person in my position in our league. I can handle it."
In the Texans' Week 1 game against the Chicago Bears, Brown was one of at least 16 Texans players who walked onto the field to hold onto the large flag during the anthem.
Several days after that game, Brown said he thinks the protests by individual players and teams have done a good job of getting the conversation started about racial issues.
“I understand what’s going on, and I backed them in their stance and what they’re aiming to do," Brown said. "The conversation that they’ve made happen, I think it’s well needed. For me, I have similar issues, but I just went about it a different way. But I understand what they’re doing.
“I think it’s been good. The great thing about this country is you have the right to do what you want to do. And you’re going to have people who agree with it and you’re going to have people who disagree with it. The thing that it was sought out to do is to bring about a discussion, and I think it’s done that."