Thanks to an invitation from the Tampa Police Department, forward J.T. Brown recently participated in a traffic stop simulation, putting himself in the shoes of law enforcement after protesting racial inequality during a pregame national anthem.

Now, the Tampa Bay Lightning winger has announced he will no longer raise a fist during the anthem -- something he, like the NFL's Malcolm Jenkins and other professional athletes, did to raise awareness of police brutality and a need for criminal justice reform. That's because, according to a statement Brown posted on Twitter Wednesday, he's successfully started a dialogue about the problems he was protesting.

"When I began my peaceful demonstration, I wanted to bring awareness to police brutality, racial injustice and inequalities," he said. "I also wanted to show that these issues were not going unnoticed by the hockey community ... I am now using this support, opportunity and platform to call out everyone who agreed or disagreed with me to help by sharing suggestions, continuing respectful conversations and looking for ways they too can help make a difference in their community."

Brown, he noted in the statement, has started by engaging in conversation with the Tampa Police Department and lining up work with the Winston Park Boys & Girls Club. He also said he intends to donate "more than 600 tickets so that organizations like the Bigs in Blue and the RICH house can come to our games." Bigs in Blue is a mentoring program that connects police with their communities, while R.I.C.H. House serves as a shelter for at-risk children in the Tampa area.

The 27-year-old Lightning veteran became the first player in the NHL to protest during the anthem when he raised his fist before a game earlier this month. Brown said afterward that he received death threats as a result of the demonstration but announced he had spoken with family and members of the military before doing so.