Kaepernick Doubles Down, Plans to Protest National Anthem Again on 'Military Night' This Thursday
This should go over well...
9.1.2016
14
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is doubling down and just announced plans to protest the national anthem tonight in San Diego. Tonight's snub is particularly noteworthy because the San Diego chargers billed it as "Military Night," when tribute is paid to "hundreds of thousands of current and retired military personnel who live and work in San Diego."
ABC News reports:
The 49ers away game today in San Diego (10 p.m. ET) is particularly noteworthy because it is "Military Night," billed as a tribute to "hundreds of thousands of current and retired military personnel who live and work in San Diego," according to the San Diego Chargers’ website.More broadly, the quarterback's pregame protest over the treatment of “black people and people of color” has garnered national media attention, driving a complex discussion about race, and political protest in U.S. sports.The timing of the “Military Night” event is coincidental, a Chargers' spokesman told the San Diego Union-Tribune earlier this week, adding that the team sponsors a "Salute to the Military" once every preseason.
In a statement Sunday, Kaepernick said he has "great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country" and that the "liberty and justice" solders fight for is in vain because "this country isn’t holding their end of the bargain up."
While some veterans have come out in support of Kaepernick, other people have burned the quarterback's jersey and other 49ers paraphernalia containing his image.
The defiant Kaepernick certainly hasn't learned a thing about humility as he vows to continue protesting the anthem until there is "significant change." What he fails to realize, however, is that actions like his are what prevent real change from taking place.
If he does perceive some kind of injustice in this country, Kaepernick could have used his celebrity to actually do good -- get involved in affected communities, start a foundation or scholarship fund, he could volunteer, or otherwise serve as a positive role model for kids in inner cities looking for a way out. Rather, he has chosen to disparage his country -- an act that brings about nothing positive and all, and what's more, does naught to bring about the kind of change Kaepernick supposedly seeks.
We will see just how warm and fuzzy the reaction is after the quarterback snubs America's solders this evening. Because no matter how he tries to spin it, that's the only way sitting out the anthem on Military Night will be perceived.
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