Throughout the NFL this past weekend, hundreds of players joined together in protest of recent statements by President Donald Trump. Each and every game saw players taking a knee, interlocking arms, or staying in the locker room during the national anthem.

The Denver Broncos had 32 players take a knee during the pregame ceremonies. Other players stayed standing, but expressed opinions about the events that took place. Team President and CEO Joe Ellis also made a statement Saturday night before the game.

“Our players have shown a tremendous commitment to raising awareness for important societal issues by using their platform in a positive way. In addition to their hard work off the field, we have great admiration for their dedication to making our team the absolute best it can be,” Ellis said in the statement. “They’ve made incredible sacrifices to reach this level, and we recognize they give their all to our team and fans each and every day. As an organization, we could not be more proud, appreciative and grateful for our players. We’ll continue to support them and work together to advocate for values of respect, diversity and inclusion.”

Last Friday, while Trump was speaking at an Alabama rally for Republican Senate candidate Luther Strange, he spun off into a tirade that appeared to be at least tangentially directed at former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose kneeling in protest of police brutality last season made waves.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired,'” Trump said on Friday. “You know, some owner is going to do that. He’s going to say, ‘That guy that disrespects our flag, he’s fired.’ And that owner, they don’t know it, [but] they’ll be the most popular person in this country.”

The president, as he is wont to do, followed up on Twitter Saturday afternoon.

Several Broncos players voiced their own opinions about the statements made by President Trump, and explained why they took the actions that they did on Sunday.

“Just [his] choice of words. I felt like he was just pointing out a few [specific] guys. I felt like it was an attack on the National Football League, as well. You know, he went on and talked about ratings. This is my life, and I love everything about the National Football League,” said linebacker Von Miller. Miller was one of the players who opted to take a knee during the national anthem.

The players all had their own reasons as to why they chose to take a knee, but they also wanted to emphasize that their decision was made together as a unit.

“I think everybody just wanted to be together — and obviously everybody didn’t do it — but the guys that did it, we talked about it. We felt like if any week [made sense], it would be this week that we should do it — and that’s all I’ve got to say,” linebacker Brandon Marshall explained. Marshall is, notably, one of the few NFL players who has taken a knee during the anthem at some point during both the 2016 and 2017 seasons, and lost more than one advertising agreement as a consequence. Marshall met with Denver Police Department chief Robert White last September; a meeting that White characterized as an opportunity “to use a football analogy — move the ball forward.”

“That’s just what we decided to do [Sunday]. As a unit, that’s what we decided to do [Sunday]. I don’t know about everybody else, but as a unit in our locker room, that’s just what we decided to do,” said cornerback Aqib Talib.

Players and coaches who opted to not kneel during the anthem also shared their feelings about the protests.

“I support those guys 110 percent. They know that I have their back. They have every right to do what they’re doing. I support those guys. I’ve said before, it’s a special group — and so many of those guys are positive agents of change in the community; you see them everywhere. It’s an honor to be their teammate,” quarterback Trevor Siemian said.

“I spoke to the team last night about what was going on in the league — and it’s their right,” said Broncos head coach Vance Joseph.

There has been no indication yet on whether protests will continue for the game against the Oakland Raiders next weekend.