Paramus Catholic NFLer Jabrill Peppers, Others Kneel In Prayer Over Social Injustice

PARAMUS, NJ — Jabrill Peppers and 11 other Cleveland Browns players knelt in prayer during the national anthem before Monday night's preseason game against the New York Giants.

Other players placed a hand on a kneeling teammate's shoulder as a show of support.

"There's a lot of racial and social injustices in the world that are going on right now," Peppers told ESPN. "We just decided to take a knee and pray for this people who have been affected and just pray for the world in general."

Linebacker Christian Kirksey led the prayer, ESPN reported.

"We did it out of respect," Kirksey said in the report. "No disrespect for anyone, we just felt like it was the right time and the need to do it."

Peppers said they were not trying to disrespect the American flag or be a distraction, but "as men we thought we had the right to stand up for what we believed in, and we demonstrated that."

The Browns selected Peppers No. 25 of the 2017 NFL Draft. Peppers played three seasons at the University of Michigan. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist this year. Peppers won four consecutive state group championships in high school, two for Don Bosco Prep and two for Paramus Catholic.

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Photo: Jabrill Peppers, No. 22, and other members of the Cleveland Browns kneel during the national anthem before an NFL preseason football game between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns, Monday in Cleveland. (Ron Schwane/Associated Press)