Packers, Bears players stand and link arms during national anthem

Players on the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears teams stood and linked arms during the national anthem Thursday night.

Photos shared on Twitter show the players, as well as some fans in the stands, linking arms as the anthem played.

Both the Bears and Packers stood with linked arms during the national anthem. pic.twitter.com/mT1MyCl0Wd

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 29, 2017

The Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and some fans in the stadium linked arms during the national anthem Thursday night pic.twitter.com/zI6phsMjuK

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) September 29, 2017

As promised, #Packers stand with arms intertwined. #Bears do the same. Chants of “USA!” ring through Lambeau before singing of the anthem. pic.twitter.com/zAZQr2DUUz

— Mike Berman (@MikeBermanNBC) September 29, 2017

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The Packers issued a statement Tuesday night asking all fans to join them in linking arms during the anthem.

“It will represent a coming together of players who want the same things that all of us do—freedom, equality, tolerance, understanding, and justice for those who have been unjustly treated, discriminated against or otherwise treated unfairly,” the team said.

“You will see the sons of police officers, kids who grew up in military families, people who have themselves experienced injustice and discrimination firsthand, and an array of others all linking together in a display of unity.”

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Tuesday that players weren’t protesting but were promoting “equality … [and] unity and love.”

“We’ve got to come together and talk about these things and grow as a community, as a connected group of individuals in our society, and we’re going to continue to show love and unity, and this week we’re going to ask the fans to join in as well and come together and show people that we can be connected and we can grow together,” Rodgers said, according to ESPN.

The Packers-Bears matchup is the first game since a wave of demonstrations swept the NFL last weekend following President Trump’s attacks on NFL players who take a knee during the national anthem.

Trump called on NFL owners to fire those players and referred to an athlete who kneels during the anthem as a “son of a bitch.”

Those comments prompted dozens of NFL players to kneel during the national anthem Sunday, and some NFL owners joined their players on the field, linking arms in a show of solidarity.