“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color”, the 28-year-old Kaepernick told NFL Media. You’ve got to stand up with your teammates.
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With the exhibition season closing Thursday at San Diego, coach Chip Kelly has not announced his starting quarterback for the September 12 regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. “People aren’t being held accountable for”.
“This is not something that I am going to run by anybody”, he told NFL Media.
Kaepernick said he did not alert anyone within the 49ers organization about his decision to sit during the anthem.
“There’s a lot of things that need to change. That’s insane”, Kaepernick said. He said Saturday he still hasn’t decided on his starting quarterback in a competition between Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert, who took over the job from Kaepernick last November and has vowed to be the No. 1 again.
“But if I do, I know I did what’s right and I can live with that at the end of the day”, Kaepernick said. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder”, he said to reporters after the game. “That’s not right. That’s not right by anyone’s standards”.
Wide receiver Torrey Smith had a similar take.
“Anquan [Boldin] said it this morning [that Kaepernick had the right to protest], and I was kind of mad that he said it, because I was like, ‘God, if Anquan says it, I’ve got to go with it, ‘ because Anquan was such a leader, and he’s a smart guy”.
Kaepernick also weighed in on the USA presidential race and how it mirrors society’s problems.
“We need more people doing this”, she said.
Kaepernick’s teammates have supported his right to speak out, while one former teammate blasted him for a lack of respect for soldiers who had died protecting American freedom. They fight for freedom.
“I Appreciate the sacrifices of the fearless who have fought for our freedom”. That just drove me nuts. “I mean people are dying in vain because this country isn’t holding their end of the bargain up, as far as giving freedom and liberty and justice to everybody”.
Before practice began Sunday, Kaepernick spoke on the field with Dr. Harry Edwards, a team consultant and noted African-American sociologist and civil-rights activist.
Edwards apparently wasn’t involved directly with Kaepernick’s decision, but the two have had discussions about the quarterback’s feelings. “Now, I think people are really talking about it”.
“We recognize his rights as a citizen to express his views”.
The 49ers and National Football League also issued subsequent statements, both noting that while they encourage standing for the anthem, there are no rules against it.
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“I think football is nearly as American as apple pie, and for him to not honor our flag is a far bigger thing than racial relations”, said McDougald, who chairs the veterans association of the California Republican Party.
