Oakland Raiders offensive line, teammates sit during national anthem

The entirety of the Oakland Raiders offensive line — the only fully African-American unit in the NFL — sat alongside teammates during the national anthem.

One of the driving forces behind the success of the Oakland Raiders in 2016 and to start this season is their offensive line. They are one of the most fearsome and bullying units in the entire league. As a group, they’re phenomenal in both protecting Derek Carr and also in clearing the way for any one of Oakland’s running backs.

Also, the Raiders starting offensive line — Donald Penn, Kelechi Osemele, Rodney Hudson, Gabe Jackson, Marshall Newhouse — holds the distinction of being the only unit in the NFL that is entirely comprised of African-American players. So in the wake of Donald Trump’s comments on NFL players and protests that were prevalent throughout the entire league on Sunday in Week 3, they reportedly said earlier in the day that they planned to protest.

Oakland, fittingly, traveled to Washington, DC on Sunday night to take on the Redskins in primetime. And as the national anthem was played, the offensive line indeed protested. They were seated on the bench while locking arms. They were also far from alone as numerous teammates joined the offensive line in their protest:

Quarterback Derek Carr remained standing during the anthem, praying:

The Raiders were far from alone in their protest on Sunday. Both the Jaguars and Ravens knelt and locked arms in London. Later, the Steelers, Seahawks and Titans all chose not to leave the locker room for the national anthem. Additionally, numerous players from every team all protested and showed unity in various ways.

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Having said that, this may have been among the most powerful statements. In terms of the offensive line, the numbers sitting in unity with the group of big men and the setting for it, there aren’t many bigger ways to make a statement.

The Redskins also protested, with players and owner Dan Snyder locking arms and a few kneeling.