RALLY SUPPORTS KAEPERNICK

In the courtyard in front of NFL headquarters in New York, and spilling out onto the sidewalk and stretching more than a city block, hundreds gathered Wednesday for a rally in support of free agent Colin Kaeper

nick. Organizers asked for a meeting with league executives by Sept. 7, the day of the regular-season opener, to discuss potential policy changes and methods to support and protect players who are socially active. If the meeting is not granted, organizers vowed to boycott the league and singled out Verizon as a league sponsor, urging those in attendance to potentially change their service provider to competitors. “We are here ’ cause we believe Colin Kaepernick deserves a job,” said Symone Sanders, former national press secretary for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie

Sanders and co-host of the rally. “We also believe that the National Football League has been complicit in the ostracization of Colin Kaepernick. And today, it’s time for the NFL to take a stand.” The gathering was part of the United We Stand rally, which was organized by several activists and civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, the Justice League NYC, the National Action Network, The People’s Consortium and the Empowerment Movement. Across the street on the other side of Park Avenue, a man held a sign with the words “COLIN THE COMMIE.” That paled in comparison to the approximate 500 or so demonstrators who gathered to express support for the meeting. “We told the group that organized today’s rally that we would not be able to pull together a meeting today,” NFL vice president of communications Brian

McCarthy wrote in an email to USA TODAY Sports. “We said we would look to set up a meeting in the next few weeks with groups that have reached out to us. The group declined the opportunity.”