Before the ritual, the Texans remained in the locker for the U.S. national anthem and the song, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,“ which some have termed the ”black national anthem.”
The Chiefs players, meanwhile, stood for both songs. Chiefs player Alex Okafor dropped to one knee during the U.S. national anthem.
“I mean the booing during that moment was unfortunate. I don’t fully understand that. There was no flag involved. There was nothing involved other than two teams coming together to show unity,” Texans star J.J. Watt told NFL Media after the game.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, a Democrat, attempted to downplay the boos from the reduced-capacity crowd. Reports said that only around 15,000 people attended the game due to the COVID-19 limitations.
“We’re a good city of good people,” Lucas wrote on Twitter. “I heard boos too. But we also have hundreds of thousands more around here who respect the message the players are sharing.”
Black Lives Matter has come under fire in recent weeks after riots, arson incidents, and looting have occurred in a number of U.S. cities following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The Chiefs won the contest 34-20.
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