--- description: Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters raised his fist during the national anthem to show support for Colin Kaepernick title: Kansas City Chiefs' Cornerback Raises Fist During National Anthem image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e4098e2de48f160/6988a5798e0601804946766a/kansas-city-chiefs.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Football](/tag/football/) ## Football Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Kansas City Chiefs Cornerback Marcus Peters Raises Fist During National Anthem by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 11, 2016 7:11 PM CUT  A giant flag is spread over the field at Arrowhead Stadium to commemorate Sept. 11, before an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers in Kansas City, Missouri, Sept. 11, 2016. A giant flag is spread over the field at Arrowhead Stadium to commemorate Sept. 11, before an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers in Kansas City, Missouri, Sept. 11, 2016.Charlie Riedel—AP by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Sep 11, 2016 7:11 PM CUT Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters raised his fist during the national anthem before playing the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, while the rest of the team interlocked their arms in solidarity. [Colin Kaepernick](http://time.com/4483618/colin-kaepernick-denies-muslim/ "undefined"), the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, has made headlines in recent weeks when he refused to stand during the national anthem before a game in [protest of the treatment of minorities](http://time.com/4469350/colin-kaepernick-national-anthem-protest/ "undefined") in the U.S. Peters joined several NFL players who are supporting Kaepernick, whose [actions have drawn tremendous criticism](http://time.com/4478542/colin-kaepernick-police-union-boycott-games/ "undefined") from those who find his protest disrespectful, including Seattle cornerback Jeremy Lane, Denver linebacker Brandon Marshall and safety Eric Reid, who have kneeled during the anthem, [ESPN](http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/%5F/id/17520290/kansas-city-chiefs-interlock-arms-cb-marcus-peters-raises-fist-national-anthem "undefined") reported. “I salute Colin for what he’s doing for a great cause,” Peters [told ESPN](http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/%5F/id/17520290/kansas-city-chiefs-interlock-arms-cb-marcus-peters-raises-fist-national-anthem "undefined") on Friday. “I’m 100 percent behind him. What’s going on in law enforcement, it does need to change and it does need to change for … everybody, not just us as black Americans.” The team rallied with Peters as well by locking their arms in solidarity during the national anthem. “After having a number of thoughtful discussions as a group regarding our representation during the National Anthem, we decided collectively to lock arms as a sign of solidarity,” the team [said in a statement](https://twitter.com/mellinger/status/775017387393372160 "undefined"). “It was our goal to be unified as a team and to be respectful of everyone’s opinions, and the remembrance of 9/11\. Together we are going to continue to have conversations, educate ourselves and others on social issues and work with local law enforcement officials and leaders to make an impact on the Kansas City community.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4486853/kansas-city-chiefs-marcus-peters-national-anthem/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4486853/kansas-city-chiefs-marcus-peters-national-anthem/"},"headline":"Kansas City Chiefs Cornerback Marcus Peters Raises Fist During National Anthem","datePublished":"2016-09-11T19:11:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:31:10.104Z","description":"The Chiefs interlocked their arms in solidarity","url":"https://time.com/4486853/kansas-city-chiefs-marcus-peters-national-anthem/","keywords":["Football"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e4098e2de48f160/6988a5798e0601804946766a/kansas-city-chiefs.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e4098e2de48f160/6988a5798e0601804946766a/kansas-city-chiefs.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chargers Chiefs Football","caption":"A giant flag is spread over the field at Arrowhead Stadium to commemorate Sept. 11, before an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers in Kansas City, Missouri, Sept. 11, 2016.","creditText":"Charlie Riedel—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4486853/kansas-city-chiefs-marcus-peters-national-anthem/","name":"Kansas City Chiefs Cornerback Marcus Peters Raises Fist During National Anthem"}}]}] ```