Members of the Vanderbilt women's basketball team took a knee during the anthem

Members of the Vanderbilt women’s basketball team took a knee during the playing of national anthem before Sunday's exhibition game against Marian University.

Photos started appearing on social media Sunday night showing about half the team's players taking a knee during the anthem.

A Vanderbilt athletics department spokesperson confirmed to The Tennessean that players did take a knee but did not have any information as to the reason why.

Vanderbilt head coach Stephanie White or her players were not available for comment after the game.

The gesture follows what some players in the National Football League have been doing all season. The NFL protest, which initially centered solely on police brutality and racial inequality, grew after President Trump called protesting players a "son of a b----." On Sunday, a majority of the Houston Texans took a knee during the anthem to protest the team's owner comparing players to "inmates running the prison."