SEATTLE SEAHAWKS

49ers’ Colin Kaepernick applauds Seahawks’ national anthem stance

Sep 25, 2016, 6:51 PM

Eli Harold, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid of the 49ers all knelt during the national anthem Sunday...

Eli Harold, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid of the 49ers all knelt during the national anthem Sunday. (AP)

(AP)

While others may question if the Seahawks’ arm-in-arm “show of unity” at a time when NFL players are kneeling during the national anthem to protest the numerous deaths of minorities by police officers, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the figurehead of the kneeling protests, applauded the Seahawks’ message on Sunday.

“They’re trying to create change, they’re trying to help, they’re trying to do everything they can to create a stable environment in these communities and get the justice, the liberty, the freedom that everybody deserves,” Kaepernick said after the Seahawks beat the 49ers 37-18 on Sunday. “And that’s what we need. We need people that are willing to take a stand, we need people that are willing to risk some of what they have to get out there and say, you know what, what is going on isn’t right and even if it’s not profitable to me, I can go help people.”

Kaepernick and his teammates Eric Reid and Eli Harold knelt beside each other prior to the game while the rest of 49ers team stood. It’s a protest Kaepernick and Reid have been doing since the final game of the preseason. On the other side, the Seahawks continued their tradition since Week 1 on 9/11 of linking arms as a sign of unity. Last week in Los Angeles, the team stood arm-in-arm with former teammate Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret who was in training camp with the Seahawks in 2015.

Kaepernick’s protest has spawned a wave of activism from players around the NFL – with some choosing to kneel and others raising their fist in protest – as well as in other sports, such as female soccer star Megan Rapinoe of the Seattle Reign. It’s also caught the attention of political figures, with President Barack Obama weighing in on Kaepernick starting the conversation about social issues, even if not necessarily endorsing the stance itself, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump advising that the 49ers QB should find a new country to live in. The backup QB’s popularity has jumped in some circles, with his jersey sales rocketing up, and plummeted in others. Kaepernick has said he will donate all proceeds from the jersey sales to charity.

After the game Sunday, Kaepernick reiterated that he’s happy his protest has started a discussion, but that the goal is “to create change … equality and have justice for all, and we have a long ways to go to get to that point.” He said he’s had “brief conversations” with members of the Seahawks and that they are working toward a similar goal.

When asked how Seattle’s arm-in-arm demonstration compares to taking a knee, Kaepernick responded: “It’s not a comparison. What we’re doing is we’re trying to bring awareness. However you want to do that, that’s what you’re doing, but ultimately it’s the message that we’re trying to send. It’s the change that we’re trying to create that’s important.”

Kaepernick’s activism has spread to the lower ranks both locally and nationally. The Garfield High School football team and cheerleaders followed Kaepernick’s lead by collectively kneeling during the national anthem at the start of their Sept. 16 game. Kaepernick also joined players and coaches from Castlemont High School in Oakland, Calif., on Friday night by kneeling while the team organized a form of a die-in protest during the national anthem, laying on their backs with their hands up.

Kaepernick said the demonstrations at Garfield and by other young athletes is “amazing.”

“We have a younger generation that sees these issues and want to be able to correct them,” he said. “I think that’s amazing. I think it shows the strength, the character, the courage of our youth and ultimately, they are going to be needed to help make this change.”

Beyond the pregame show of unity, Seahawks players have spoken out about social issues of late, with wide receiver Doug Baldwin demanding that all 50 state attorneys general “call for a review of their policies and training policies for police and law enforcement to eliminate militaristic cultures,” and cornerback Richard Sherman declining to take questions during a press conference, instead delivering a message about the need for change in the wake of two most recent fatal shootings of black men by police officers.

Reid, the 49ers starting safety, spoke after the game about specific changes he’d like to see in the police policies, specifically that law enforcement adopt the military’s policy to only shoot unless fired upon or if there is an imminent threat.

“For our police officers to be able to use the sentence, ‘I felt like my life was in danger,’ it’s not acceptable,” Reid said. “We need to change our policy.”

Reid said he’s spoken with players around the league about working with leaders to change policies and applauded Baldwin for pushing specific goals.

“I didn’t talk to him about that but just because Colin started it, and I was the second guy, doesn’t mean that we have to be the only ones doing something,” Reid said. “So it’s great that he took the initiative and took it upon himself to go and do it.”

Harold, who said he had been a silent member of the protest for three weeks, decided to take a knee on Saturday after seeing more black men dying at the hands of police.

“I just felt that I needed to take the knee this week. So I did it,” he said. “I went up to Colin yesterday and I let him know that I was going to be joining him with the knee and he supported me, shook my hand and went with it.

“… White, black, Asian, Pakistani, if you’re unarmed and you’re not threatening the life of someone who has a gun and you don’t, I feel like they shouldn’t die in that situation.”

Harold said he wasn’t much aware of what the Seahawks were doing to bolster the cause.

“I’m not against what they’re doing … I guess they’re thinking the same that we’re thinking but we’re just taking different action,” he said. “We’re actually taking knees and they’re locking arms. I don’t have nothing against them, but, you know what I’m saying, I don’t know if the media is writing up on them being arm and arm. What does it mean? I don’t know if anyone from their team has came out and said what it means so I really can’t speak much on it.”

When asked if it had the demonstrations had the same impact, Harold responded, “I don’t know, bro.”

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