NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that he disagrees with Kaepernick’s choice to kneel during the national anthem, but recognizes the quarterback’s right to protest.
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With his jersey sales now the top selling piece of merchandise on NFLShop.com, Kapernick announced that he will be giving back all proceeds he receives from those sales “into the communities”, via Instagram post Wednesday morning.
“The jersey sales jumped because of people’s belief that there can be change”, he said.
Citing his father’s military service and family members in law enforcement, Shaquille O’Neal said Wednesday he did not agree with the method of Colin Kaepernick’s protest against racial inequality.
The 49ers host the Rams on Monday to open their regular season.
“I love that there’s freedom of speech and he can stand for what he believes in”.
“Messy” is how Obama described Kaepernick’s decision to sit during the national anthem before games and Kaepernick said that’s an inevitable part of the process. “I’ve talked to so many veterans about what they think”. I have great respect for them, I have great respect for people’s right to believe what they want to believe. Sales of Kaepernick’s jersey have skyrocketed since his protest became public.
“I’m now working with organizations to be involved, and making sure I’m actively in these communities, as well as donating the first million dollars I make this year to different organizations to help these communities and help these people”.
Kaepernick burst upon the National Football League midway through his second season, when he replaced a concussion-suffering Alex Smith in 2012. “I wish people would be as outraged about the murders that are happening in the street as they are about a protest”.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with (activists and community leaders) about how to address the issue practically and with reasonable solutions that we feel can be implemented, whether it’s legislation or in the communities, to make sure that these changes are happening”, said Kaepernick. On the other hand, we believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL.
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Between the lines, Kaepernick’s football career has been on a steady downward trajectory since he lead the 49ers to the 2013 Super Bowl in his second season, sparking breathless prognostications about how he might revolutionize the quarterback position. Still, he said his focus remains on reclaiming the starting quarterback job that for now belongs to Blaine Gabbert.
