Eagles' Jenkins will continue anthem protest for entire season

Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins is one of the most ardent supporters of a league-wide protest against racial inequality and police brutality, and he'll continue to raise awareness throughout the season.

Jenkins raised his fist in protest prior to Philadelphia's game against the Chicago Bears on Monday, and later reflected upon his actions in an interview with The MMQB's Kalyn Kahler.

My original plan was to have teammates white and black stand together raising their fists, so that it's no longer is a white or black issue and so people can’t automatically write it off like it is dividing, because it’s not a Black Power salute. Historically, if you look up the clenched fist or the raised fist, it is simply a sign of solidarity, resistance, and strength, especially against oppression and against violence. That’s what I wanted to do. But I mean, like anything else in this country, it’s hard to stand in front of thousands of people and take a stand on this. When you see guys losing endorsements and you see the enormous wave of hate thrown at the guys who have stood out on this, it's hard and I think that’s why you see on every team across the league, you see two or three guys that are out there kind of by themselves doing this.

Jenkins said he didn't raise his fist during the team's opening game, to properly commemorate 9/11.

"We were going to do it as a team, but at the final hour we decided that we wanted to make sure that we weren’t doing anything to take away from 9/11," he said. "We wanted to honor that day. Although I thought the issue was just as important, as a group, we collectively decided to stay away from that day."

Jenkins, along with other teammates, will continue their protest prior to Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.