NHL fans are sharing pictures of themselves kneeling in support of Black Lives Matter after players stood for the anthem

• NHL fans are posting images of themselves kneeling in their jerseys with the hashtag #Kneel4Hockey in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
• As the NHL restart approaches, players have been standing side-by-side with their opponents as the national anthem played.
• Eric Trump tweeted out his support of players standing on Thursday night.
• On Friday, fans began making their #Kneel4Hockey posts, asking for a more clear show of support from the league.

NHL fans are posting pictures of themselves kneeling in their jerseys with the hashtag #Kneel4Hockey on social media.

The trend comes just as the NHL prepares to restart its season out of two bubbles located in Canada.

In the warm-up scrimmages ahead of the restart, players from opposing teams have been standing together for the anthem as a show of unity. Players are not taking a knee during the national anthem, as has become common in the NBA, or leaving the court, as did WNBA players.

Some political figures on the right, including Eric Trump, tweeted their support for the players standing for the anthem on Thursday night.

—Eric Trump (@EricTrump) July 30, 2020

In response, NHL fans posted images of themselves kneeling in their jerseys, in a show of solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

—Joe Ginley (@JoeGinley) July 31, 2020

—From Tape to Tape (@fromtapetotape) July 31, 2020

—Kevin Shafer (@shafer_soc) July 31, 2020

—Chris Moore (@Chris_Moore26) July 31, 2020

—Katya pride was a riot (@plscallmesurely) July 31, 2020

—Brayden (@Engel_Brayden) July 31, 2020

—max ellery (@mxdupuis) July 31, 2020

Teams that stood with their opponents as the anthem played had intended the statement to be seen as a message of unity.

"It was something for equality and justice, (anti) racism," Flyers center Sean Couturier said after his team stood side-by-side with the Penguins ahead of their scrimmage, per NBC Sports. "It was to respect people, your opponent. We're a pretty big rival, but at least it shows the way that we have respect for each other, the same as in life."

With the #Kneel4Hockey campaign, some fans are looking to push for a clearer statement from the players.

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