Raiders invite activist and Olympic legend Tommie Smith to light torch in Mexico City

Tommie Smith, right, and John Carlos pose for a picture in September (AP)

Tommie Smith, best known for raising a fist with a black glove at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, will return there as a guest of the Oakland Raiders.

Smith will light the Raiders’ torch, which is lit in honor of late owner Al Davis, before the Raiders’ Monday night game against the Houston Texans. The game will be in Mexico City as part of the NFL’s International Series.

Raiders owner Mark Davis, Al’s son, is longtime friends with Smith. Smith and John Carlos raised a fist on the medal stand after the 200-meter race as a show of black power and support for civil rights.

“It felt like [the salute] was the right time and the right moment and it fell in place,” Mark Davis said, according to ESPN.com. “It was awesome, and it will always be a moment that will stick with me.”

The salute was controversial at the time and has endured for decades. This season some NFL players have been protesting for racial equality, and many of them raised a fist during the national anthem. Others have taken a knee during the national anthem. Those actions were immediately compared to what Smith and Carlos did in Mexico City almost 50 years ago.

Smith told ESPN.com lighting the Raiders’ torch in Mexico City “feels like it’s come full circle.” He said he respects the Raiders for their progressive attitude when it comes to hiring practices.

“This is a very, very historic moment for me,” Smith, who played two games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1969 and caught one pass, told ESPN.com. “To do it for the Raiders – I have a lot of respect for the things that they do.”