49ers remain quiet on kneeling cheerleader
SANTA CLARA >> The 49ers decided to stay mum Friday, a day after a cheerleader took a knee during the national anthem, a la Colin Kaepernick.
That’s in part because the unidentified cheerleader is not technically a 49ers employee. Performers for the “Gold Rush” squad work for E2K, a Mountain View event and and entertainment company.
E2K did not immediately respond to the Bay Area News Group’s request to comment.
The only comment on the matter came from Coach Kyle Shanahan who said in reply to a question: “I don’t know about the cheerleader who took a knee, and I don’t have a thought about that.”
It’s at least the second time a member of the Gold Rush took a knee during the anthem. Last Christmas Eve, two 49ers cheerleaders did so in protest before the team’s game in Santa Clara against Jacksonville.
On Thursday night, one cheerleader alone planted
her right knee on the turf during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner before the 49ers beat the Raiders 34-3 at Levi’s Stadium.
While the other Gold Rush performers stood, the cheerleader tucked her gold pom-poms behind her back until the conclusion of the national anthem. A handful of photos from the scene made the rounds on Twitter, including one from Henny Herold, who told the Huffington Post that he didn’t notice much of a stir.
“No one else that I know of noticed or reacted,” Herold told the Post. “She stayed with her teammates for the rest of the game, and they appeared to support her.”
Viewers around the country did not see her protest because Fox, like most networks airing NFL games, decided not to televise the anthem live this season. The move was made to try to defuse the controversial protesting during the anthem.
The 49ers deferred commenting on the matter, noting that they’ve addressed the anthem policy repeatedly since Kaepernick first launched his protest in August 2016. Team CEO Jed York has repeatedly supported the rights of Kaepernick, former defensive back Eric Reid and other players to express themselves politically.
York also donated $1 million to causes Kaepernick holds dear.
“I think everything starts from conversation,” York said last October. “And the more you can have conversation, the more you can actually see where other people are coming from, I think the more enlightened you can be.
“And for me, I am not the most leftwing person in the world. I realize people are trying to sort of paint me as that . ... That’s not my background politically and how I grew up, but I think a lot of these things are common-sense issues, and when you actually sit down and talk to people and you know where people are coming from, it’s hard to not be sympathetic and empathetic.”
The 49ers now halt concession sales during the playing of the national anthem because, York said, “I don’t think we should profit during the national anthem if we’re going to ask people to be respectful.”
Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since becoming a free agent in March 2017 and filed a lawsuit accusing the league of colluding to keep him off the field because of the player protests he instigated. The quarterback said he declined to stand for the national anthem in protest of police brutality and other racial injustices.