A dozen Cleveland Browns players, including Seth DeValve, took a knee in prayer during the national anthem before Monday night's preseason game.

Several other players placed a hand on a kneeling teammate's shoulder in support.

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

DeValve, who became the first known white NFL player to take a knee during the national anthem, said recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, had a lot to do with the decision. The tight end said it was also more involved. His wife, Erica, is African-American.

"I myself will be raising children that don't look like me, and I want to do my part as well to do everything I can to raise them in a better environment than we have right now," DeValve said. "So I wanted to take the opportunity with my teammates during the anthem to pray for our country and also to draw attention to the fact that we have work to do."