ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith, whose raised-fist salute on the medal stand at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics was seen as a flash point in the civil rights movement, will light the Al Davis torch in memory of the late Oakland Raiders owner before Monday night's game at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca against the Houston Texans.

The torch is lit before every game, and this time, it will shine in Mexico City. It will only be Smith's second trip to Mexico City since those 1968 Summer Games, and he will travel with the team on its flight there.

"This is a very, very historic moment for me," Smith told ESPN.com on Wednesday. "To do it for the Raiders, I have a lot of respect for the things that they do. The Raiders have always been out in front in terms of change. They were always called a renegade team. But look what the renegade team brought to light."

Tommie Smith, center, with John Carlos at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, will light the Al Davis torch for the Raiders' Monday night game in Mexico City. Universal History Archive/Getty Images

Tom Flores was the first Latino head coach to win a Super Bowl, with the Raiders. The team also hired the first African-American coach in Art Shell, as well as the first female CEO in Amy Trask.

"This feels like it's come full circle," Smith said.

Raiders owner Mark Davis said that Smith lighting the torch in Mexico City was not a move motivated by politics, but rather, he said, Smith was a "hero" of his since his protest 48 years ago.

"When Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists, it touched me," Davis said. "A 13-year-old kid growing up in the Bay Area, which was a hotbed of all kinds of things. We had People's Park. The Black Panthers. The Hells Angels. Berkeley had Telegraph Avenue and San Francisco had the Haight. So it was a hotbed of social activism, and then there was the war in Vietnam.

"It felt like it was the right time and the right moment and it fell in place. It was awesome, and it will always be a moment that will stick with me."

Davis asked Smith this spring to light the torch in memory of his father. The torch has been lit by former players -- including Bo Jackson, Jim Plunkett and Hall of Famers Marcus Allen, Howie Long and John Madden -- representatives of military branches and local law enforcement, as well as actress Ann-Margret, who is family friend.

Smith, who ran track at San Jose State and played briefly in the AFL as a receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969, has come back into the spotlight in recent weeks with the likes of Colin Kaepernick's protest during the national anthem.

Athletes using the First Amendment to voice their opinion for social change, Smith said, has come a long way.

"I had a responsibility," Smith said, "and I still do. To do this for someone like Al Davis and the Raiders is the pinnacle of what I believe in."