"I don't fully understand that. There was no flag involved. There was nothing involved other than two teams coming together to show unity"
Friday 11 September 2020 19:23, UK
J.J. Watt admits it was "unfortunate" to hear some fans booing as the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs came together for a 'moment of unity' prior to Thursday night's season opener.
The Texans remained in their locker room for the duration of the national anthems before joining the Super Bowl champions on the field and locking arms in peaceful protest amid the fight for racial justice.
Due to social distancing measures only 16,000 fans watched the game from inside Arrowhead Stadium, however, booing could still be clearly heard.
"The moment of unity I personally thought was good," Watt said, per NFL Network's James Palmer. "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.
"All in all a locker room is a very diverse place. There are people from all difference backgrounds and all different situations. I've been very fortunate to be a part of many locker rooms in my life.
"In this locker room we've had more comfortable conversations than we've ever had about topics that maybe are uncomfortable to talk about and maybe people have never opened up about these conversations.
"I've learned a lot. I've been educated a lot. It's really been a growing experience for our team and we've come a lot closer because of it."
'Lift Every Voice and Sing', known as the Black national anthem, was played prior to kickoff in addition to 'The Star-Spangled Banner' in support of the fight against racism in America.
Players were also seen to have the names of victims of systemic racism printed on their helmets, while the messages 'End Racism' and 'It Takes All of Us' appeared on either endzone.
It is anticipated teams will follow suit ahead of Sunday's games, with the Miami Dolphins having confirmed an hour before kickoff on Thursday they will stay inside the locker room as the Texans did during both anthems.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns, rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire racked up 138 yards and another score, and the Kansas City Chiefs began the defense of their first championship in 50 years by beating the Houston Texans 34-20 in Thursday night's NFL season opener.
Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins and Tyreek Hill each caught touchdown passes for the Chiefs. Texans QB Deshaun Watson threw a TD and ran in for another score in the fourth quarter but, by then it was too little, too late after the Texans found themselves in a 31-7 shaped hole.
KC stat leaders: Patrick Mahomes, 24/32, 211 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, 25 carries, 138 yards, 1 TD
Receiving: Sammy Watkins, seven catches, 82 yards, 1 TD
Texans stat leaders: Deshaun Watson, 20/32, 253 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: David Johnson, 11 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD
Receiving: Will Fuller, eight catches, 112 yards
Coverage of Week One continues on Sky Sports NFL with five more games to come this weekend, including a triple-header on Sunday from 6pm that features Miami @ New England, Tampa Bay @ New Orleans and Dallas @ Los Angeles Rams
Don't forget to follow us on skysports.com/nfl, our Twitter account @SkySportsNFL & Sky Sports - on the go!
