NFL quarterback Newton makes T-shirt protest after Charlotte shooting
Cam Newton wore a T-shirt with a famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr. during the pre-game warmup before the Carolina Panthers' National Football League game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
There was a heavy police presence outside the Panthers' stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina after a fifth day of protests prompted by the fatal shooting of a black man, by a black police officer.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," the quote on the back of the Panthers star quarterback's shirt read.
Earlier this week, Newton called the fatal shooting of Keith Lamont Scott embarrassing, touching on a "state of oppression in our community".
Police released bodycam footage of the shooting on Saturday. They also released pictures of a handgun and marijuana that police say Scott had on him.
A group of about 50 protesters locked arms and chanted slogans outside the Bank of America Stadium before the game. There were no early reports of arrests.
Fox NFL reported that the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner in Charlotte went off without any visible protest on the field from the players on either sideline.
That was not the case in other stadiums around the league on Sunday.
In Nashville, Tennessee, Oakland Raiders linebacker Malcolm Smith raised his glove-covered right fist in protest during the playing of the national anthem.
Some of Smith's teammates and a few of the Tennessee Titans players also raised their fists during the song.
Players at several other Sunday NFL games protested the anthem by kneeling or raising fists.