Colin Kaepernick wasn’t the only 49er to sit during the national anthem before the preseason finale against the Chargers.
Advertisement
Shortly before Petty Officer 1st Class Steven Powell sang “The Star-Spangled Banner”, Kaepernick and his teammate Eric Reid knelt near the bench as TV camera operators hovered nearby, drawing boos that turned to cheers as Powell was introduced.
Two-hundred-and-forty members of the military held the flag during the singing of the anthem before the final preseason game for both teams.
Kaepernick made waves last Friday, when he was seen sitting during the playing of the national anthem.
Once both teams had left after warmups, the Marine Band San Diego performed military anthems. “I was just standing behind Kaepernick”. The controversial quarterback has said he will not stand for the anthem at the game on Thursday night. Kaepernick got the start and played 32 snaps – the entire first half – before calling it a night. Boyer, who wrote a conciliatory open letter to Kaepernick earlier this week, spoke with the quarterback about his stance this week. “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 it’s supposed to, I’ll stand”. “I’m going to continue to stand with the people that are being oppressed”.
Though he was not received well by Chargers fans. “So I have the utmost respect for them, and I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way”.
Sunny Anderson, Food Network personality and a veteran, tweeted: “I took an oath & served so players on a team I don’t even like could have freedom of speech”.
Advertisement
Kaepernick’s social activism, which only emerged publicly in recent weeks, also included support for the Black Lives Matter movement through social media. USA Today also reports that the head of a national police organization ripped Kaepernick for the socks, saying the quarterback is “dishonoring police officers with what he’s wearing on the field”. “I’ve been very blessed to be in this position and be able to make the kind of money I do, and I have to help these people”.
