The photos were taken earlier in training camp before Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the national anthem as a form of protest became public.
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NFL fans turned out in force on Twitter on Friday to heap scorn on Colin Kaepernick and two other players who refused to stand during the playing of the US national anthem in a second week of pre-game protests, but some fellow players offered support.
“I think it’s very fearless of him to continue to stand up for what he believes in while also changing his physical position to be respectful to the country”, Reid said. “I want to help make America better, and I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from”. “It’s not right that they’re not put in a position to succeed or given those opportunities to succeed”.
Also at the game was Army veteran and former long snapper Nate Boyer, who was invited by Kaepernick.
Kaepernick took time also during his post-game news conference to attempt to refocus the message he is trying to get across with his protest. That came off as more respectful to the country, to the anthem, to the military. But Kaepernick asserts that his expression was an act of freedom of speech, one meant to show solidarity with movements condemning police brutality and supporting civil rights.
“The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony”.
“It’s just ridiculous that the same league that prohibits the Dallas (Cowboys) football club from honoring the slain officers in their community with their uniforms stands silent when Kaepernick is dishonoring police officers with what he’s wearing on the field”, Johnson told USA Today.
“He saw that it hurt people that he sat during the national anthem”, Reid said. NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown said he is with Kapernick “100 percent”, while many members of the Armed Services showed their support on Twitter with the #VeteransForKaepernick hashtag. “When there’s significant change and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, this country is representing people the way that it’s supposed to, I’ll stand”. “I’m just standing behind what I believe in”.
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Oh, by the way, Kaepernick did stand during a rendition of “God Bless America” before the start of the fourth quarter and clapped afterward.
