San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick addressed Thursday wearing socks to practices last month that showed cartoon pigs as policemen.
Advertisement
Kaepernick came under fire after photos surfaced of him wearing the socks during an August 10 scrimmage, days prior to his decision to sit down during the national anthem at a pre-season game.
Kaepernick took to Instagram on Thursday afternoon to defend his sock choice, calling out “rogue cops” who “put the community in danger”. I have two uncles and friends who are police officers and work to protect to serve ALL people. “A city like San Diego is too patriotic and we have too much military [here]”. I’d be that unhappy with him being on the team and I don’t think you would have a guy like Kaepernick on a team like the Chargers.
Kaepernick said Sunday that he planned to continue his protest, and after addressing the team and explaining his perspective, his teammates expressed support for his efforts to draw attention to the ongoing oppression of black Americans in the United States.
Amid the criticism over his protest, many veterans this week used the Twitter hashtag #VeteransforKaepernick, saying that they are behind the player’s right to express himself.
The NFL told USA Today it would not have an official response until after it consults with the 49ers, who play the San Diego Chargers in their final preseason game Thursday night.
“There are things we can do to hold them more accountable”. It’s not clear if the league would come down on Kaepernick’s statement socks.
Colin Kaepernick was not alone in not standing Friday night for the playing of the national anthem.
While negative reaction to the quarterback has been strong, Kaepernick also has been widely praised for his commitment to his stance.
“No, because if something happened, you’d be proving my point”, Kaepernick said, according to the report. However, Kaepernick has clarified that his protest wasn’t aimed at members of the military but that it was raising issues with how police treat people of color.
Advertisement
The San Francisco Police Officers Association responded by sending letters of complaint to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and to 49ers owner Jed York.
