Army Sgt. First Class Stoney Bell from North Carolina said he applauded Kaepernick’s courage for taking a stand, but also said that as a public figure he should be more cognizant of his actions.
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Others passing by have also offered disapproving hand gestures, hisses and venting in person.
Earlier this week, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump weighed in on the controversy surrounding Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem during a preseason game Friday night, saying in a Seattle radio interview, “Maybe [Kaepernick] should find a country that works better for him”.
It was 1968, a national anthem and an act of defiance when bronze medalist John Carlos raised gloved fist on the medal stand to make a statement on human rights.
Kaepernick openly denies both of those claims, explaining that his recent actions have been preceded by years of internal dialogue on race and equality in the present world.
“Another said, “#VeteransForKaepernick because I didn’t volunteer to defend a country where police brutality is swept under the rug”.
If you have an answer that makes sense to you, put your hand over your heart and sing along as you see fit.
“I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country”, he insisted Sunday.
For a lot of us and myself personally, we can become numb to issues like Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, and other racial tensions when the cable news outlets tend to repeatedly circle the wagons on them. So that’s something that this country has to change. On KNBR’s morning show, for instance, hosts Gary Radnich and Larry Krueger opined that Kaepernick should not have staged his protest because he was financially successful and he was not a starting player, and suggested it would have been all right for an athlete in an individual sport such as boxing or golf, but not in a team sport. Justice and freedom are not always a reality. “The band struck up the national anthem”.
King once said, “I criticize America because I love her”.
“He knew he was going to catch hell for this, he knew that he was going to be attacked, he knew that he was putting himself at risk but he did it anyway”, Adachi said.
B then, Colbert launched into the actual history of the “Star-Spangled Banner” at sporting events and pointed out something interesting: The national anthem wasn’t actually a tradition until the Cubs played it during the seventh-inning-stretch at a game in 1918.
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Anyone who gets on social media or (I’m aware this doesn’t happen as much as it used to) tells someone to their face that Kaepernick is wrong in his method of protest needs to start being vocal in their own communities.
