Asked later why he remained seated, Kaepernick explained that it was a protest against social injustice and police brutality. He gets his first chance to repeat the protest in full view of the world on Thursday night, when the 49ers visit the Chargers for their final preseason games.
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The idea behind the salute is to pay “tribute to the hundreds of thousands of current and retired military personnel who live and work in San Diego”, the Chargers said in a news release this week.
This was well before news broke of Kaepernick’s protest of the national anthem on August 26.
A sign in the crowd read: “You’re an American”.
However, the jeering did little to deter Kaepernick, who impressed during two quarters, leading his team on a 16-play opening drive for an early touchdown to put the 49ers ahead.
Colin Kaepernick, front, and Blaine Gabbert go through core exercises on July 31. So that’s something that this country has to change.
Speaking after the game, Kaepernick brushed off the charges of not being patriotic. And I think people that are voting in the blind are doing a disservice to our country by not being better informed.I hope that everybody understands the issues and votes their conscience according to a well-informed effort on their part.
“He has no respect for our country”, another told Bleacher Report.
However, I don’t think Kaepernick is thinking about what our flag stands for.
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 pictures were going viral, and we knew it was only a matter of time before he was questioned about them.
“That’s another issue. These issues need to be addressed”.
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The 49ers, who unsuccessfully tried to trade Kaepernick since his demotion, have supported his protest, as have many others, including NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown and National Basketball Association legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But the assassination of Dr. King was a tragedy for our country, and I wanted to demonstrate my concern for what was going on. “He wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to the military or the national anthem, so he chose to change his position to be more respectful, but still bring awareness to the issues that he believes are going on in this country, and that I wholeheartedly believe exist in this country”.
