Colin Kaepernick to donate $1M to community organizations

Kaepernick’s protest came to light during the 49ers’ third preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on August 26.

Kaepernick has refused to yield an inch of ground after taking his anti-flag position.

In a letter obtained by the news station, the police union told the National Football League team that “police officers [may choose] not to work at your facilities”, if the team did not take action against Kaepernick. The protest has spread to other teams as well.

Maybe Kaepernick’s stance has opened a division in the 49ers’ locker room and threatens to be a distraction for months. “I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harm’s way for my freedom of speech and my freedoms in this country and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee so I have the utmost respect for them”.

For the past week, we’ve debated – in coffee shops, at work, on talk radio shows, around the dinner table – the merits of Kaepernick’s decision not to stand for the national anthem before games, his way of protesting the centuries-long short end of the stick that people of color have been getting in America, especially at the hands of the so-called justice system.

During a Thursday, September 1, game, Kaepernick, 28, and Reid, 24, declined to stand up or place their hands over their hearts as “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed.

The 49ers, in the meantime, have backed Kaepernick’s actions, stating that players have a right to participate, or not, in the national anthem.

Now, he’s an embattled veteran whose civic dreams are reconnecting him with fellow 49ers, or so he believes.

“This is a phenomenal organization”, Kaepernick said. But one mention of the police and he lets loose. “I want to help make America better”. We have a lot of people that are oppressed, we have a lot of people that aren’t treated equally, aren’t given equal opportunities. “We have cops in SFPD that are blatantly racist”, Kaepernick said.

Kaepernick’s protest is rubbing off on more than Reid.

Last week, San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick protested quietly while refusing to stand while the National Anthem was playing.

You see, Kaepernick’s future with the 49ers was still up in the air Friday.

Kaepernick said he’s willing to take up the SFPD’s offer of visiting its academy.

“I wore these socks, in the past, because the rogue cops that are allowed to hold positions in police departments, not only put the community in danger, but also put the cops that have the right intentions in danger by creating an environment of tension and mistrust”, Kaepernick wrote.