Controversial San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is great for business. Cole and Trey Songz both wearing his #7 jersey in recent performances.
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At a news conference in China on Monday, the president said he did not doubt Kaepernick’s sincerity in his decision not to stand for the anthem ahead of the team’s games to protest the treatment of African Americans by law enforcement authorities in USA cities.
The North Carolina rapper donned the jersey at a performance on Saturday.
Lane was uncertain whether any of his teammates would join the protest during the 4:05 p.m. EDT game in Seattle on Sunday.
Speaking at the G20 Summit in China Monday, President Obama weighed in on 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the National Anthem before games, saying the “young man” is simply exercising his constitutional rights.
“I don’t doubt his sincerity”, Obama said of Kaepernick, before going on to say generating conversation on the topic was positive.
Kaepernick “cares about some real legitimate issues that need to be talked about”.
Kaepernick was met with loud booing when he knelt Thursday, in what was billed as Chargers’ Salute to the Military night. I think there’s a long history of sports figures doing so.
Maybe over time, Obama said, Kaepernick will refine his thoughts, and some of his critics will start seeing that he has a point.
“I think it’s actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated and the way that a lot of the media has covered it and made it about something it absolutely isn’t”, she said. After the National Anthem protest, the sales skyrocketed to 3rd and then a few hours later, he had the top selling jersey on the team. Kaepernick was sixth all year prior to his protest.
His jersey was also the third-best-selling player jersey on NFL.com as of today, according to the website.
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Kaepernick recently came under fire for the move, which he has said is to protest treatment of African Americans and other minorities in the United States. Soccer player Megan Rapinoe also knelt during a National Women’s Soccer League game, telling American Soccer Now that her actions were “a little nod to Kaepernick”.
