Elsewhere, Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane has followed suit in a game against the Oakland Raiders as did Megan Rapinoe of the National Women’s Soccer League. Eric Reid, Kaepernick’s 49ers teammate, also plans to sit.
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Obama’s views on Kaepernick are in sharp contrast to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who said on a Seattle radio station that “maybe he should find a new country that works for him”. If you have even been to a sporting event, you have seen fans stuffing hot dogs in their mouths, talking on their phones and all sorts of other activities, oblivious to the fact that the anthem is even being played.
“I wasn’t expecting my jersey sales to jump to number one because of this”, Kaepernick said. “I’m doing it for me”, Lane said. To date, that protest has taken the form of Kaepernick refusing to stand during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner”. And putting Kaepernick’s name on your back is an easy way to do that.
More Kaepernick gear has been sold in the past week than the previous eight months combined, ESPN reported.
As NBC points out, as of just about a month ago, Kaepernick’s jersey was far from being the best-seller that it now is. Now, only the jerseys of Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. are selling better.
Kaepernick, who led San Francisco to the 2013 Super Bowl but has since been demoted to backup, is the latest professional athlete to use his celebrity to call attention to the issue of the mistreatment of minority groups by law enforcement.
The 49ers open their season at home against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
The football player’s refusal to stand for the anthem first came to public notice when he remained seated on the bench before a preseason game against Green Bay. I love people. That’s why I’m doing this, ‘ he said.
So in my mind, I sincerely doubt that he ever meant to offend service men and women.
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“We have to choose respectful ways of doing that so that we can achieve the outcomes we ultimately want and do it with the values and ideals that make our country great”, said Goodell, whose late father, Charles, was a USA senator. And, if nothing else, what he’s done is he’s generated more conversation around some topics that need to be talked about.
