49ers QB: I won’t stand for Anthem:
Niners QB: I won’t stand for anthem, cop brutality
COLIN KAEPERNICK has no plans to stand during the national anthem anytime soon, even if it costs him his job as quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
Two days after he refused to rise for “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the 49ers’ preseason loss to the Packers, Kaepernick told reporters Sunday he’s sticking to his controversial position.
“I’ll continue to sit,” Kaepernick said. “I’ll continue to stand with the people who are being oppressed. To me, this is something that has to change. When there’s significant change, and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, and this country is representing people the way it’s supposed to, I’ll stand.”
Kaepernick said he wants the one-man sit-in to bring attention to the nation’s civil rights problems.
“Ultimately, it’s to bring awareness and make people realize what’s really going on in this country,” he said.
“There are a lot of things going on that are unjust and people aren’t being held accountable for. And that’s something that needs to change. This country stands for freedom, liberty, justice for all. And it’s not happening for all right now.”
The biracial signal caller (r.), 28, has been an outspoken supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Before speaking with the media, Kaepernick and other players discussed the controversy during a player’s-only meeting.
Some agreed with his message but questioned his method. Some said they know he has offended his countrymen.
Whatever the consequences, Kaepernick insists, “I did what’s right.”
“There is police brutality,” he said. “People of color have been targeted by police. So that’s a large part, and they’re government officials. They’re put in place by the government. That’s something this country has to change. There are things that we can do to hold them more accountable, make those standards higher.”
Meanwhile, Long Island Rep. Pete King slammed Kaepernick’s stance, calling it “entirely wrong.”
“It is also an indicator of how low our cultural standards have been degraded that anyone is actually supporting this behavior,” the Republican lawmaker said in a statement.
Several 49ers fans have shown their outrage over Kaepernick’s decision by burning the player’s uniform.
“He says he’s oppressed making $126 million,” one fan says in a video circulating around the web Sunday morning.
“Well, Colin, here is my salute to you. Here’s my salute to you sitting on the bench the rest of the year.”
He then burns a No. 7 Kaepernick jersey while “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays in the background.