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Opening day in the NFL saw Kansas City cornerback Marcus Peters raise a black-gloved fist during the national anthem, a protest amplified later Sunday when four Miami Dolphins kneeled on the sideline with hands on their hearts as The Star Spangled Banner played in Seattle.The protests were inspired by San Francisco backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick , the first NFL player who chose to sit and take a knee during the anthem in preseason games to call attention to what he termed the oppression of blacks and other minorities.I chose to get involved to see if I could create change, raise awareness. And I want to make it clear that there is no disrespect to the military or to police officers -- Im not about that. I love everyone, said Miamis Jelani Jenkins, one of the Dolphins to kneel. I would like to keep moving forward in the right direction with everybody: equal rights, equal opportunity. From my position, it doesnt seem that its happening. Thats why I took a stand.The Dolphins got support from one very important person -- their boss, team owner Stephen Ross.I dont think it was any lack of respect, Ross said. I think everybody here, our team and our whole organization, respects the flag and what it stands for, the soldiers and everything. These guys are really making a conversation of something thats a very important topic in this country and Im 100 percent supportive of them.Peters gesture was the only one visible throughout the early games Sunday, as the anthems took on more significance because of the 15th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks.I come from a majority black community from Oakland, California ... so the struggle, I seen it, Peters said after the Chiefs beat San Diego 33-27 in overtime. I still have some family in the struggle. All Im saying is we want to educate those, the youth thats coming up.The four Miami players -- Arian Foster, Michael Thomas, Jenkins and Kenny Stills -- registered their protest shortly before kickoff. The four players stood while President Barack Obamas message played regarding the 15th anniversary of 9/11 before taking a knee . All four stood at the conclusion of the anthem.If its about the knee that people are upset about, every Sunday people of faith take a knee to give thanks to their lord and savior, whatever faith or religion that they are, Foster said. Its not about a knee, its not about the (symbolism), its about the message. They say its not the time to do this, but when is the time?Several teams, including the Chiefs and Seahawks, saw their players link arms during the anthem. Peters, the 2015 defensive rookie of the year, was the last person in the Chiefs line and had his arm free to raise it.He spoke up about something he felt he needed to speak up about, Peters said last week. I salute him for that.Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall , a teammate of Kaepernicks in college at Nevada, took a knee during the anthem on Thursday night.NFL commissioner Roger Goodell weighed in on Kaepernicks protest last week as well, saying, I dont necessarily agree with what hes doing.Seattles locker room was engaged in a lengthy discussion over the past few weeks about what type of message to send. The players enlisted coach Pete Carroll in the discussions almost from the start, and brought Dr. Harry Edwards to help direct the conversations.Gestures mean nothing without follow through. Thats what Harry Edwards said and thats what I agree with, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said. People get confused that you have to go out there and put on a show and make this gesture and make people aware of it, and were more about action.Wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who became a default spokesman for Seattles actions, said the players are working to schedule a meeting with the mayor of Seattle and local law enforcement.We know that there has to be change and progress, Baldwin said. Change is inevitable. Change will always happen. But you got to apply direction to change, and thats when its progress. And so right now what were doing as a team, we have a follow through.A taped message from Presidents Obama and George W. Bush were played at each stadium. Bush attended the Giants-Cowboys match in Arlington, Texas, while Vice President Joe Biden was in Philadelphia for Browns-Eagles.Peters gesture was also a tribute of sorts to U.S. sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympics. Both then appeared on the medal stands with raised, black-gloved fists throughout the U.S. national anthem in what they called a human rights salute.And in the night game, New Englands Martellus Bennett and Devin McCourty both held up their right arms. Teammate Danny Amendola was seen clutching the American flag unfurled on the field in Arizona.The International Olympic Committee ordered Smith and Carlos expelled from the games because of the protest.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLNike Shoes China . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Fake Nike Shoes From China . 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The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances.Chris Mosier didnt intend to be a game-changer.When he started doing triathlons after college, he didnt envision becoming the first openly transgender athlete to participate on a Team USA squad consistent with his gender identity. This summer Mosier competed at the ITU Duathlon World Championships in Aviles, Spain. Duathlons were originally something Mosier did as a warm-up for triathlon season because he hates cold water. However, I just found that I was really good at it, he said in a phone interview.In addition to being an elite athlete, Mosier is an activist. He started the website transathlete.com, which tracks the policies governing trans participation in youth sports in each state. He also works full time as the vice president of program development and community relations for You Can Play, an organization working to end homophobia, transphobia and biphobia in sports.Mosier chatted with espnW about his incredible year, athlete activism and what a gender-inclusive sport culture looks like.espnW: Why did you become an advocate in addition to being an athlete?Chris Mosier: I dont think it was ever my intention to become an advocate, and for a long time I actually struggled with the idea of being so public and so out. I knew that when I came out publicly in media, that was a forever thing. I would never be able to just be another athlete or another guy.I knew that being visible could have a positive impact. The whole reason that I was public about being out as a trans athlete was that I didnt see people who looked like me when I was deciding to come out. I didnt see trans men competing with men. I wanted to see that and be an [example] for other people.espnW: Should?athletes have a sense of responsibility for their community?CM: Each athlete needs to make that decision for themselves, as far as how public they want their statements to be. But I think every athlete needs to understand and recognize the incredible platform that they have. If youre a good athlete, you have a little extra social capital and people listen to what you have to say. Athletes are role models whether we like it or not,?but I think its up to each person to decide how much they want to use their platform.espnW: This has been such an incredible year for you. What has been the biggest change? CM:?I actually feel visible. Prior to this year, I knew that I was impacting people. Impact is not the reason for my work, but I know that it is a byproduct of what I do, so I want my words and actions to reflect my values. The biggest change this year is that now I know people are watching and they do see me. Being recognized on the street is certainly a different thing for me as well.espnW: In your opinion, what is the current state of sport for trans athletes? CM: Im really thrilled with the movement that weve had. However, movement doesnt necessarily?mean progress. Something like [North Carolina law] HB2 is not progress, but its movement. People are talking about how [the law] impacts trans athletes, and I think thats really positive.We obviously have a long way to go and certain areas of athletic participation are moving faster. For example, I was able to have a successful year with relative ease, meaning that I didnt receive much pushback around the International Olympic Committee?policy change. I also know that when we see trans women who are athletes, that these conversations are completely different, and so I certainly have male privilegge as Im working to make policy change.dddddddddddd. Our next step is shifting the conversation around trans women in sports, and also how we include nonbinary and gender nonconforming folks in a way thats comfortable.espnW: When you say shifting perceptions regarding trans women and gender nonconforming folks participating in sport, what do you mean by that?CM: There are so many intersections that could be addressed, but part of it is breaking down the sexism in sports. When people are identifying the characteristics and qualities of a good athlete, we need to understand that is different for every sport. There is so much diversity in terms of skill and genetic [composition] of genders. Since sport is so binary, it becomes complicated for anyone who is not male or female. We need to have conversations about what gender actually is and what are the attributes of a successful athlete. The idea that trans men would not be able to compete with men because they were designated female at birth, thats the sort of sexism Im talking about.When people are talking about the greatest athlete in the world, are they immediately saying Serena Williams? They should be, but Im going to guess that many minds go to scrolling through a Rolodex of male athletes.espnW: What does a fully gender-inclusive sport culture look like to you?CM:?At the most basic level, an inclusive environment in athletics comes down to respect. We need to respect one another with our language. [Its] not that we cant be competitive, that we cant talk s---, because thats part of competition and theres a place in sport for that, but at the end of the day we need to respect one another, our diverse backgrounds and who we are as people.Thats one of the reasons why eliminating casual homophobia is important. All of this conversation about locker room talk and giving someone a pass on the language they use -- thats the root of the problem. Thats one of the challenges we have with LGBTQ inclusion in sport. The locker room talk, or the casual, dismissive things that people say, creates an unsafe space for others. Thats why we see so many trans people stopping sports. Its not a safe environment.espnW: Whats next for you?CM: Part of it is enjoying this year. For a very long time, I did not celebrate my own victories and did not share good parts of my life with other people because of my fear of how I would be perceived. For example, I did not want to share that I was doing well in races, because I was not thrilled to be in the womens category. This last couple of years has been a big shift for me.Im enjoying the success that Ive had this year and training really hard so that I can continue next year. It is really important to me to make Team USA again, so that it wasnt just one and done. I have a really great race season planned for next year.Part of whats next is figuring out ways to use my platform to leverage change for other people. Whether thats my work with You Can Play, helping professional teams, colleges and high schools look at their policies, or conversations with athletes and administrators -- it will be leveraging this position so that we can see wider change. Its been a great year for me, but that doesnt make it a great year for all trans athletes. What Id really like to do is make sport a safer place for other people. ' ' '