AP PHOTOS: Brown, Garner prompt sports protests

Dozens of athletes in recent weeks have responded to confrontations between authorities and black citizens in Ferguson, Missouri, New York and elsewhere by wearing T-shirts bearing such statements as ''I Can't Breathe'' and ''Hands Up, Don't Shoot!''

Eric Garner died July 17 after a New York police officer placed him in a chokehold while he was being arrested. A recording of Garner's arrest showed him gasping ''I can't breathe'' during the encounter, and thousands protested a grand jury decision not to indict the officer.

Another grand jury decided not to indict a police officer over the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Before a Rams home game, five St. Louis players took the field making the ''Hands up. Don't Shoot!'' gesture associated with Brown. The St. Louis Police Officers Association called for the NFL to discipline the players; the league declined.