This tennis player took a knee but not for the reason you think

Over the weekend, the NFL knee protest really went bombastic, with hundreds of players staging a protest during the pre-match national anthems after Trump's rants against them. 

SEE ALSO: #TakeAKnee protests are about police violence, not the military or the Constitution

So naturally when Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios took a knee in centre court before his Laver Cup match against Roger Federer, everyone thought about a show of solidarity with the NFL players: 

Kyrgios isn't new to political statements. In January, he wore a "Fuck Donald Trump" T-shirt at a press conference: 

Users noted that Kyrgios and Colin Kapernick, the 49ers quarterback who started the knee protest last September, shared the same agent, Carlos Fleming at WME|IMG:

However, in this case at least, it looks like Kyrgios' gesture was a "personal tribute" rather than a political protest: 

In a post-match press conference, Kyrgios said: "I'm doing that before most matches just to remember, you know, the two most important people that have passed away."

Asked whether kneeling was in solidarity with the NFL players, he said: "Fuck no. Serious?"

It isn't clear exactly who he is remembering, but ABC Australia says he was very close to his grandfather and grandmother who passed away.

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