Colin Kaepernick hears the boos, finds some support in San Diego
SAN DIEGO — Colin Kaepernick once again refused to stand for the “Star Spangled Banner” Thursday night, dropping to one knee and drawing the venom of nearly an entire football stadium.
This time the San Francisco 49ers quarterback was not alone. Alongside him at Qualcomm Stadium was a teammate, Eric Reid.
Kaepernick said he thought Reid joining him in the protest was “amazing,” and that the pair had addressed the topic multiple times.
“He approached me and said I support what you’re doing, I support what your message is,” Kaepernick said. “Let’s think about how we can do this together.”
And they adapted. The Bronx jeers broke out even as an African American naval officer sang the national anthem on “Salute the Military” night, but what they missed was the intentional nature of Kaepernick’s new protest. He was on one knee, no longer seated — his way of showing some respect to the military while still finding a posture of protest, he said.
“We wanted to make sure the message that we’re trying to send isn’t lost with the action,” he said, adding that he’ll kneel going forward. “At this point, I think it will be taking a knee.”
He added that the idea came about after a conversation with former Seattle Seahawk Nate Boyer, an ex-Green Beret.
“We were talking to him about how can we get the message back on track and not take away from the military,” Kaepernick said. “As we were talking about it, we talked about taking a knee. It was also a way to show more respect to the men and women who defend the country.
“I’m not anti-American,” he added. “I love America. I love people. That’s why I’m doing this. I want to try to help make America better.”
In Oakland, Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane sits as well.
(Tony Avelar/AP)
None of that stopped the booing on Thursday.
Kaepernick was booed whenever he took a snap throughout the first half, cheered only when he scrambled — and placed himself at risk for a hard hit.
Still, the quaterback’s act of defiance spread to Oakland, where Seahawks defensive back Jeremy Lane sat on the bench during the anthem. Lane told reporters that he sat to support Kaepernick, and that he’d told nobody he was planning to do that.
Neither Kaepernick nor Reid knew Lane was sitting, but Kaepernick said he was “very happy, very proud,” of him. He added that he’s had “a lot of conversations with a lot of different people,” and has heard from “a big number” of other NFL players since he’s come forward with his protest.
Pig cop socks from 40sandshorties.com that Colin Kaepernick wore to 49ers practice.
(40sandshorties.com)
Kaepernick saluting before the game is played.
(Jake Roth/USA Today Sports)
After his decision to kneel for the anthem, Kaepernick high fives teammates before taking the field.
(Denis Poroy/AP)
Kaepernick warms up before Thursday’s game.
(Jake Roth/USA Today Sports)
“I think there are a lot of people that know there are issues and want to address them,” he said.
The 28-year-old has faced blistering backlash from fans, his city’s local police union and even some fellow players for his refusal to get to his feet when the national anthem was played ahead of a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 26. But he did not worry about that, and he called Thursday’s boos “a misunderstanding.”
“The media painted this as I’m anti-American, anti-military, and that’s not the case at all,” he said. “I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice themselves … so I have the utmost respect for them and I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way.”
Kaepernick stressed that his message is solely focused on correcting the “issues in this country that we need to deal with.”
“There are a lot of issues that need to be talked about, that need to be brought to light,” he said.
He added he was “disappointed” the nature of his message has become the centerpiece of the discussion around his protest, forcing the issues to which he’s trying to draw attention to take a back seat.
“That’s something that’s hard for this country to address is what the real issues are,” he said. “And coming to the point where we can admit that these are issues. Yeah, it is disappointing because it takes us farther away from the end goal.”
Kaepernick doesn’t want things to go that way, and he’s doing everything possible to keep them from getting off-course. Hence there was the slightly altered, more respectful protest. He said he is exploring working with organizations “to be involved.” He’s also planning to donate the first million dollars that he earns this season to a handful of “different organizations.”
Carl Sebern, 67, is an ex-military man from the Air Force.
(Ebenezer J Samuel/New York Daily News)
“It was something I was thinking about to make sure that I’m not just talking about something,” he said of his plans for donation, “but that I’m actively being involved. I have to help these people, have to help these communities.”
He’s also considering taking the San Francisco Police Department up on its offer to visit the SFPD. The SFPD’s union sent a letter to the NFL and the Niners earlier this week, calling for league and team to denounce Kaepernick’s protest and suggesting he take a ride in a squad car.
Kaepernick said he is “most definitely” considering it, then hinted he’d use his time there to audit a unit that’s had several moments of corruption in recent years.
“The SFPD has had a lot of issues,” he said, before reminding everyone of a recent scandal in the organization. “And I think one of the issues that needs to be addressed are the racist text messages that have been passed back and forth between the PD members.”
Kaepernick wears the socks at Thursday’s practice.
(Ben Margot/AP)
Front page of the New York Daily News for August 28, 2016.
Kaepernick wears his pig socks at practice (l.) something else that make big news.
He took another shot at the SFPD when asked about the socks he wore earlier in August practices, the high socks that featured pigs in police caps. He did not back down from donning those socks, even though they could be viewed as counterproductive to his overall message.
“We have cops that are murdering people. We have cops in the SFPD that are blatantly racist, and those issues need to be addressed,” he said.
That doesn’t mean he hates all police, he added.
“I have an uncle, I have friends who are cops, and I have great respect for them,” he said. “The cops that are murdering people and are racist are putting other cops in danger … and that’s an issue that needs to be addressed.”
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Colin Kaepernick hears the boos, finds some support in San Diego
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