Justin Verlander talks about racism, Astros kneeling before national anthem on Opening Day

Most of the Houston Astros kneeled before the national anthem Friday night at Minute Maid Park on Opening Day.

Here is a photo of team members knelling.

When asked about most of the team kneeling, Astros pitcher Justin Verlander addressed it before speaking at length about his recent realizations about race and racism.

“When I look in the mirror now especially given my platform, it’s not good enough just to say: ‘OK, I’m not racist,’” he said. “I think that over the past six, seven years that’s shown that that’s not enough. There needs to be change in our culture. I think bringing attention to it the way we did is a good way to do it.”

This is what Verlander had to say about his pitching performance on Friday.