With the country still reeling from Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem, supporters of the San Francisco 49ers quarterback are opening their wallets to buy up every last one of his jerseys.
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Since his protest sparked a national debate, Kaepernick has seen fans burn his jersey – and then watched as it became the best-seller in the NFL’s online shop.
These are all important things for us, and that moment [when the national anthem is played] is a very important moment.
Rapinoe on Sunday said she hoped to “keep the conversation going”, and planned to support Kaepernick.
“To willingly allow anyone to hijack this tradition that means so much to millions of Americans and so many of our own fans for any cause would effectively be just as disrespectful as doing it ourselves”, the Spirit said in the statement.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said not long after the story broke that “maybe [Kaepernick] should find a country that works better for him”, and the union for the Santa Clara, California Police Department – the officers who work San Francisco 49ers home games – said that its members would consider boycotting their duty to police the stadium if the team didn’t discipline Kaepernick for his actions.
Kaepernick declined to stand during the playing of the national anthem ahead of a preseason game on August 26 and a game last week, prompting both support and outrage from NFL players and fans across the country.
Goodell adds that with National Football League players having a visible platform for their viewpoints, “we have to choose respectful ways of doing that so that we can achieve the outcomes we ultimately want and do it with the values and ideals that make our country great”.
A day after calling Kaepernick “one of the biggest patriots out there”, Jets receiver Brandon Marshall again defended the quarterback’s right to peacefully protest.
Tortorella’s son Nick is an Army Ranger and is deployed in the Middle East. He always said America was an incredible nation. “I really want to get kind of a common perspective to be able to share with him”. “When there’s significant change, and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent and this country is representing people the way that it’s supposed to, I’ll stand”. I would be very interested to hear his observations.
Teammate Bobby Wagner believes the Seahawks should act together because “that’s that the world needs to see”.
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AP Sports Writers Tim Booth in Renton, Washington and Dennis Waszak Jr.in Florham Park, New Jersey contributed.
