The Washington Redskins defensive backfield took to the grass at FedEx Field on Monday Night Football in a “hands up” gesture in support for slain teenager Michael Brown and the protestors on his behalf in Missouri. The nothing-to-hide body language has become the iconic imagery, along with looted stores, in the demonstrations on behalf of Michael Brown, an alleged thief killed in a confrontation with the police in Ferguson, Missouri.

#Redskins official about players coming out with “hands up” in tribute to Michael Brown. Doesn’t look like they knew it was coming.

— Chuck Carroll (@TheChuckCarroll) August 19, 2014

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“We just want to show our supporters what’s going on in St. Louis,” safety Brandon Meriweather said after the game. “We just wanted to show support.” Meriweather, hardly known for hands-up passivity, fired at several thieves in 2006 who had shot a friend in the buttocks.

The Redskins defeated the Browns in the game broadcast nationally by ESPN. Johnny Manziel’s second-half gesture using one finger quickly trumped the pregame demonstration relying on both hands. 

The on-field demonstration was the brainchild of Meriweather and cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Second-year safety Phillip Thomas told the Washington Post that in raising his hands he was “just going with the program.”