San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt with his arms folded during the performance of the USA national anthem during a pre-season game in San Diego on Thursday, continuing his protest against racial injustice and police brutality.
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It seems as though San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit during the national anthem is one that some other NFL players were on board with. Thursday’s game was also San Diego’s annual salute to the military.
Kaepernick then played a solid first half in his competition for the 49ers’ starting job, going 11 for 18.
Kaepernick has said he’ll refuse to stand again, just as he’s done for the first three preseason games.
So a few hours before Thursday’s exhibition game, they agreed on a silent protest that might not be viewed as divisive as retreating to the bench and sitting during the playing of the national anthem. That didn’t make much logical sense, but it was rich that Thursday happened to be military appreciation night at Qualcomm Stadium.
“I told him I appreciate what he is standing up for”, Banks said. Charles Robinson posted an article shortly after the game talking about the potential pivot we might see on this.
The festivities included pregame music from the Marine Band San Diego, halftime recognition of Vietnam War veterans, and a crowd filled with numerous injured soldiers invited as special guests. Jay Glazer said on Fox last week that Kaepernick might get cut before the regular season, and Glazer said that would have nothing to do with his political stance.
“You’re entitled to feel or say whatever you want to about Colin Kaepernick, but there are people in this country that are hurting, whether you want to believe it or not”, Foster said. “And he is receiving heavy boos here in the stadium from the Chargers fans”, said Ryan, a former National Football League player.
Kaepernick (No. 7) takes a knee during the national anthem.
You don’t have to respect or like Kaepernick for this, but this moment made you think, and it probably started 20,000 more conversations.
San Diego, a major home port for the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet, is a big military town. He also said that Kaepernick is one of the best two quarterbacks on the roster.
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More recently, players for the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Minnesota Lynx took the court last month with warmup shirts that said “Black Lives Matter”. Veterans and military members tweeted their support for Kaepernick in recent days under the hashtag “VeteransForKaepernick”.
