Colin Kaepernick Refuses to stand during national anthem.

[Steve0x]

Colin Kaepernick, who has been mired in a quarterback controversy with Blaine Gabbert to see who will lead the 49ers this season, may have sparked a real controversy Friday night.

Kaepernick did not stand for the national anthem before the 49ers preseason game at Levi's Stadium, although the move went unnoticed by most at the time. ProFootballTalk.com reported the story more than an hour after the game, and no reporters asked Kaepernick about it following the 49ers 21-10 loss to the Packers.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/colin-kaepernick-sits-during-national-anthem-49ers-preseason-game-quarterback-controversy/1qk4hbnhhp79q1uyxx85j0jhc0

 

I think Roger Goodell should fine Colin Kaepernick $25,000 if he does this act and do it again its a one game suspension with $50,000 fine.

 

[The Mom Gene]

WOW...   Never cared for the guy...  and don't even moreso now.  There's never an excuse for it either.  If you are healthy enough to go out there and play the game, you can stand for the Anthem.

[Steve0x]

I agree its disrespectful

[Deflated Football]

Never liked him but his explanation was at least sincere. The 49ers said it best in their statement: "In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose to participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”

[Tank 92]

scum bucket.  If you don't appreciate what the anthem and flag stand for move to Afghanistan.

[Steve0x]

2 minutes ago, Tank 92 said:

scum bucket.  If you don't appreciate what the anthem and flag stand for move to Afghanistan.

I agree with that. Goodell should take action There was an NBA player who refused to stand for the anthem and flag he was fined big time 

http://articles.latimes.com/1996-03-13/sports/sp-46409_1_mahmoud-abdul-rauf

[hawkprey]

Why not protest the US by not living there? I love where people draw the line.

[JO_75]

Low life scum bag should move out if he doesn't want to be respectful to our country's flag. Our troops have fought and still fight for his freedom to play in the NFL. 

I read his stupid reasoning for it and quite frankly an NFL game has no place for anyone to take a political stand.

[Steve0x]

16 minutes ago, JO_75 said:

Low life scum bag should move out if he doesn't want to be respectful to our country's flag. Our troops have fought and still fight for his freedom to play in the NFL. 

I read his stupid reasoning for it and quite frankly an NFL game has no place for anyone to take a political stand.

I wonder what Charles would say about this? 

[Deflated Football]

59 minutes ago, Steve0x said:

I agree with that. Goodell should take action There was an NBA player who refused to stand for the anthem and flag he was fined big time 

http://articles.latimes.com/1996-03-13/sports/sp-46409_1_mahmoud-abdul-rauf

Doubt he's going too. NFL already commented on his stance. It's encouraged but not required. Let bygones be bygones. There's greater issues going on in the WORLD than standing for the national anthem. My goodness. 

[Moderator 3]

I believe it's a matter of team rules.  Until a few years ago, the Ravens didn't come out on the field until after the anthem.  Harbaugh changed that.

[Tank 92]

Just now, Deflated Football said:

Doubt he's going too. NFL already commented on his stance. It's encouraged but not required. Let bygones be bygones. There's greater issues going on in the WORLD than standing for the national anthem. My goodness. 

It's called respect.  A lot of folks have died so that guy can be free to make a living doing what he does. The flag and anthem represent those efforts. RESPECT

 

[Moderator 3]

What makes anyone think this clown was ever respectful of anything?  This is certainly not out of character for HIM.

[The Mom Gene]

2 hours ago, Deflated Football said:

Never liked him but his explanation was at least sincere. The 49ers said it best in their statement: "In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose to participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”

And where does he get that right??? From the millions who died defending that flag.   I don't want to break the rules either, hence why I won't say what I really think either. 

[Willbacker]

Regardless of the reason disrespecting the flag lowers my opinion of him dramatically. And it should be about all oppressed people.

[BmoreBird22]

I really have no issue with this. If you read what he said about his choice, you'd understand he truly believes in his cause and wants to make an impact.

How do you make an impact? By not appeasing everyone and by going against the grain. I actually think he's doing the right thing with peaceful protest, as opposed to all the violence that is happening.

[ravefan52]

Leave this country if you don't like it. We all really hope you do

[Tank 92]

Kap is clueless. Protesting in a disrespectful manner that has zero to do with his cause(and in reality supports it) just makes him look like a fool.

Wanna make an impact Colin?  Use your celeb status to sponsor a football clinic, neighborhood meet and greet, etc. and invite members of the police force to help out. Get people together and show them first hand that a few bad cops don't represent the values of justice.   

[BmoreBird22]

6 minutes ago, Tank 92 said:

Kap is clueless. Protesting in a disrespectful manner that has zero to do with his cause(and in reality supports it) just makes him look like a fool.

But at the same time, he has said he doesn't want to stand for a flag that doesn't represent his cause. If he truly believes that the actions of this country do not represent the flag that the country was founded upon, why would he stand?

[allblackraven]

Observing from the outside, I don't think he did anything wrong. The issues Kap is protesting are real, there is no doubt. The peaceful way of disagreeing he chose is right and obviously has an effect. However, he is in a position to do so much more - why doesn't he?

[BmoreBird22]

I think the thing to consider here, and what you all really seem to be missing, is that he doesn't believe that the actions of the country right now are representing that flag in the way it was founded and created. This flag is a representation of freedom, equality, and respect for all, but the actions of the country right now speak otherwise to him. Why is that a big deal?

Again, he's not out there shooting others, looting, or vandalizing. He's literally exercising his first amendment rights and doing it in a peaceful manner that has caught the attention of the media. That's an impact right there if the country sees it.

[BmoreBird22]

Just now, allblackraven said:

Observing from the outside, I don't think he did anything wrong. The issues Kap is protesting are real, there is no doubt. The peaceful way of disagreeing he chose is right and obviously has an effect. However, he is in a position to do so much more - why doesn't he?

Do we know he's not doing more, though? I mean, not all actions are publicized. America would much rather focus on the negative narrative than the positive, 9 times out of 10. I really don't know if he's doing more to help inner cities or the protests, but at the same time, can we definitively say he's not?

[Inqui]

4 hours ago, Deflated Football said:

Doubt he's going too. NFL already commented on his stance. It's encouraged but not required. Let bygones be bygones. There's greater issues going on in the WORLD than standing for the national anthem. My goodness. 

I've honestly never understood the correlation between standing for an anthem and respecting the flag and everything it stands for (before someone jumps on me calling me a clueless foreigner - and kinda proving my point for me - we stand for the national anthem for national games here too). If people weren't asked over the PA system to stand for it, there'd be plenty of people sitting down who still respected the anthem, flag and soldiers (though that's a can of worms I'm not getting into either - I'll just leave it at I don't buy the counter-argument people have been giving you) and everything they represent. Why does someone hate America just because they didn't stand? Do they hate America if they don't put their hand over their heart for the anthem? Do they hate America if they don't sing for the anthem? Why or why not? Where do you draw the line and why? 

Sure it's not difficult to stand, but calling him a "scumbag" and saying he should get fined $25,000 seems a little excessive considering all he's done is - at WORST - exercised a democratic right. He didn't kill a serviceman's dog, he didn't throw dirt at a serviceman and he didn't disrupt a funeral. As @BmoreBird22 said, if you have a cause that you don't feel is being heard you have to rock the boat a little and it was done in a completely peaceful and frankly harmless way.

But then, I've never been a fan of pretending that obligatory gestures are sincere.

[allblackraven]

1 minute ago, BmoreBird22 said:

Do we know he's not doing more, though? I mean, not all actions are publicized. America would much rather focus on the negative narrative than the positive, 9 times out of 10. I really don't know if he's doing more to help inner cities or the protests, but at the same time, can we definitively say he's not?

I am assuming because I'm pretty sure something like that would be heavily publicized, considering what was happening a month or two ago. He is also in a position to get it publicized.

[BmoreBird22]

1 minute ago, allblackraven said:

I am assuming because I'm pretty sure something like that would be heavily publicized, considering what was happening a month or two ago. He is also in a position to get it publicized.

I don't know. A lot of athletes don't want the media attention for doing charity work, which I can agree with. You're doing something kind to help others. Do you really need the media to pat you on the back?

[Cville-Raven]

I have to be honest I think it's a bit overblown. The issues he's protesting are real and I understand where he's coming from. Am I in love with what he did? No, but I get why he did it and he has the right to do it. If the 49ers allow it within their rules then I don't see the issue. 

[allblackraven]

3 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I don't know. A lot of athletes don't want the media attention for doing charity work, which I can agree with. You're doing something kind to help others. Do you really need the media to pat you on the back?

Of course not but the stuff he specifically mentioned is little different and if he did something it would have been the right thing to do to raise awareness.

[Tank 92]

10 minutes ago, BmoreBird22 said:

I don't know. A lot of athletes don't want the media attention for doing charity work, which I can agree with. You're doing something kind to help others. Do you really need the media to pat you on the back?

Does it seem that Colin is averse to garnering media attention?  LMAO!

[Moderator 3]

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