University of North Dakota defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker and forward Jasper Weatherby kneeled during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before their NCHC season opener against Miami University on Wednesday.

Here's a wider angle:

Bernard-Docker and Weatherby made their intentions known Tuesday. The players explained they wanted to protest racial injustice and promote equality.

Weatherby said at the time they planned to kneel only before Wednesday's contest.

The two players attended a Black Lives Matter march in Grand Forks along with North Dakota goaltender Peter Thome in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody in May, according to the Grand Forks Herald's Brad Elliott Schlossman.

Bernard-Docker and Weatherby are also members of their school's Student-Athlete Inclusion and Diversity group that meets twice a month. Weatherby, the NCHC's player representative in a college hockey diversity group, made a list of recommendations for making his campus more inclusive and sent the suggestions to school officials.

The Fighting Hawks hosted a team movie night in November where they watched a documentary about Floyd's death, as well as another film that focused on systemic racism of Black people in the United States.

Bernard-Docker and Weatherby are junior classmates, roommates, and assistant captains for the top-ranked Fighting Hawks. Bernard-Docker is a 2018 first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators and he's one of the club's top prospects. That same year, the San Jose Sharks selected Weatherby in the fourth round.

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