Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs started the new season with a clear success in the opening game of the National Football League (NFL). Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ team defeated the Houston Texans 34:20. Mahomes, who signed a record ten-year $ 450 million deal last summer, was the standout player with three touchdown passes.
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Actions against inequality and police violence took place before the game. Both teams met in the middle of the field, hooked each other and were silent together. Meanwhile, seven sentences were to be read on the scoreboard at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, including “We must end racism” and “We must end police violence”.
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The Texans stayed in their cabin during the national anthem. The Texans also stayed in the dressing room for the song “Lift every voice and sing”, the black anthem to be played before every game this season. They did not want to choose between the two titles, it said on the part of the club. The Chiefs’ players, on the other hand, stood hooked on the field, with one exception. Alex Okafor knelt and raised a fist.
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Clearly audible boos from the stadium, which has almost 16,000 spectators, and only 22 percent of which is only allowed to be used due to the corona pandemic, caused outrage, especially in the social networks. The US media also shared videos of the scene with the boos on social networks during the game. A call can be heard that sounds like “Trump 2020”. Immediately afterwards the boos start. Whether in response to the exclamation or the gesture of the footballers on the field remained unclear. When the Texans players entered the stadium after the anthems, boos could also be heard.
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“We need changed hearts”
The Miami Dolphins, who like most other teams start the season on Sunday, had previously announced that they would also stay in the dressing room for both anthems. “We need changed hearts, not just a reaction to pressure. It is enough, no more fluff and empty gestures. We need owners with influence and bigger wallets than ours, who call on officials and use political power,” it said in a video:
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After months of protests against racism and police violence in the US and clear announcements from the NBA, the behavior of the professionals in the National Football League was eagerly awaited. Colin Kaepernick caused a stir in 2016 as the then quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers with the protest against police violence and inequality during the anthem. At that time he had been criticized by league boss Roger Goodell. Meanwhile, Goodell regrets not having heard Kaepernick’s and other players’ concerns earlier.
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