Boyer stood next to the two during the anthem while they kneeled. For each game the message remained the same: Nobody was sitting in protest.
Advertisement
After hearing loud and sustained boos directed at him during the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason game against the San Diego Chargers on Thursday night, Colin Kaepernick called the crowd’s negative reaction a “misunderstanding”. He said he doesn’t have an existing relationship with Kaepernick and hadn’t informed him of his intentions to sit, either.
Boyer, who was a Green Beret before he walked onto the Texas football team, met with Kaepernick before the 49ers’ preseason finale against San Diego on Thursday.
Kaepernick was joined by teammate Eric Reid, who also dropped to one knee while Petty Officer 1st Class Steven Powell from the U.S. Navy sang “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
He loves America. He just wants to make it a better place. Why not stand to honor those people of color who defend this country?
Afterward, Kaepernick asked Boyer to join him on the sideline, where the quarterback made a decision to kneel instead of sit during the anthem.
Aside from following each other on Twitter and both playing for NFC West teams, it doesn’t seem Lane and Kaepernick have any clear common bond.
“Colin Kaepernick, know that we see you, man”, Okung wrote on The Player’s Tribune, an online forum for professional athletes.
But now they’re linked in a strong way. We just stood along Bruin Walk, and I had people criticize me for standing out there.
So who is Lane?
If ever there was a team that would support Lane’s right to do so, it would seem to be Seahawks, where individuality and free expression are celebrated and encouraged, emanating from coach Pete Carroll on down. And, unbelievably, Lane also tore his ACL on that play.
“I’m already hearing it this week that next week on Monday Night Football, some officers are not going to work”, the union’s president, Frank Saunders, told the local Bay Area NBC affiliate. I’m very much in support of them and how we handle it. We talked for a couple days, to figure out a way to be more respectful of those people and the national anthem of the country while still maintaining the stance that there needs to be things done about these issues.
Lane sat alone on a bench on the east side of the Coliseum during an instrumental performance of the anthem.
Advertisement
The letter from the union runs counter to a statement recently issued by the Santa Clara Police Department, which said its officers “will continue to provide a high level of service at all stadium events to ensure the safety of the fans, players and referees”.
