The action of standing in a circle and holding hands as a symbol shows a sense of unity (Blumer, 1969; Cooper et al., 2019)

Fans arriving for the kickoff of Old Dominion University’s (ODU) football game against the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) on September 24, 2016 were greeted with a curious sight. A few minutes before kickoff, fans witnessed ODU mingling in the stadium’s north end zone, and after a few minutes of discussion, players and coaches fanned out in a circle around the end zone, clasping hands with the individual on both sides of them. When the circle was complete, the players lifted their arms up over their heads in unison. The rationale for the gesture, termed the “Circle of Unity” (COU) were feelings of unease and discord about a series of violent incidents involving police and Black men in America. The COU became a symbol in which ODU football players (and sometimes their opponents) could express their displeasure with societal injustices while maintaining the team’s desire to create unity among the country. (O’Hallarn et al., 2021)