Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown became the first NHL player to demonstrate during the Star-Spangled Banner when he did so prior to a game against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 7.
On Wednesday, the Burnsville, Minn., native released the following statement on Twitter.
While some NFL players have been kneeling during the playing of the U.S. national anthem prior to games, Brown raised his fist has he stood on the bench beside teammates.
“I wanted to do something to show my support,” Brown said following that Oct. 7 game. “There are some issues that we have to talk about, so in my mind I’m just trying to bring a little more awareness and any type of conversation that we can get started would be great.
“I know there’s going to be negative backlash, but in my heart I know I did what was right.”
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