From the Las Vegas Review Journal:
Derek Carr is a budding star NFL quarterback. Khalil Mack is the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year. Together, their statures afford them a large following.
On Saturday, they hoped to lead.
Carr placed his right hand atop the back-neck area of Mack’s jersey throughout the national anthem before the Raiders’ 24-21 exhibition loss to the Los Angeles Rams. This was no accident, Carr said afterward. The gesture was intended as a message of solidarity amid racial tension in the United States.
“Any kid, any family, any adult that follows us or looks up to us, we knew their eyes would be on us,” Carr said. “We wanted to show them that it’s OK for a white kid and a black kid who come from two different neighborhoods to grow up and love one another and be best friends.”
Carr, 26, said the two are “not protesting” the anthem.
“We’re not doing anything like that,” he said. “What we wanted to do is show all the kids that look up to me, that look up to him that white kids, black kids, brown kids — blue, green; it doesn’t matter — can all be loving to each other. That’s what me and Khalil are. We’re best friends, and we love one another. The only reason we did that was to unify people and unify the people that look up to us.
By Michael Gehlken
