Kaepernick had been sitting out the national anthem in San Francisco’s first three preseason games but it was not widely noticed until last Friday’s game against Green Bay. “We have a lot of people that are oppressed”.
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One of his teammates, safety Eric Reid, knelt alongside the quarterback during the singing.
Also on Thursday night, Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane didn’t stand for the anthem ahead of a game in Oakland. “He wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to the military or the national anthem, so he chose to change his position to be more respectful, but still bring awareness to the issues that he believes are going on in this country, and that I wholeheartedly believe exist in this country”.
Kaepernick said in a statement posted to his Instagram page he has relatives and friends who are police officers and he had worn the socks in the past to call attention to “rogue cops”.
“It’s something I plan to keep on doing until I feel like justice has been served”, Lane said. “No, I didn’t tell anyone I was going to do it”. According to ESPN, this decision came after a 90-minute conversation Kaepernick and Eric Ried had over the weekend with former long snapper, Nate Boyer, who used to be an Army Green Beret.
Boyer, who competed for a job on the Seahawks a year ago, wrote an open letter in The Army Times earlier this week to Kaepernick about his decision not to stand during the anthem. “I think when that happens, I think a lot of people will really influence me to stand”.
“The media painted this as I’m anti-American, anti-men-and-women of the military and that’s not the case at all, ” Kaepernick said after playing the first half of the 49ers’ 31-21 victory over the Chargers.
“I am planning to take it a step further, 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”. Colin Kaepernick also said he was in talks with multiple organizations to become involved in social activist work. Veterans and military members tweeted their support for Kaepernick in recent days under the hashtag “VeteransForKaepernick”.
Kaepernick continued by saying “I am planning to take it a step further, 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”. “I want to help make America better”, he said.
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