ESPN: Colin Kaepernick protests anthem due to treatment of minorities

[KLJ]

4 hours ago, BRAVEONAWARPATH said:

 

hope he's better at that than quarterbacking.

[Boss_Hogg]

Head of police organization: Colin Kaepernick's socks 'disrespectful' and NFL at fault

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/49ers/2016/09/01/police-reaction-colin-kaepernick-pig-socks-san-francisco/89715672/

The executive director of one of the largest police organizations in the country blasted Colin Kaepernick and the NFL on Thursday after learning that during training camp practices in August, theSan Francisco 49ers quarterback wore socks that bear the image of cartoon pigs wearing police hats.

“It’s just ridiculous that the same league that prohibits the Dallas (Cowboys) football club from honoring the slain officers in their community with their uniforms stands silent when Kaepernick is dishonoring police officers with what he’s wearing on the field," Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations (a coalition of police unions and associations from across the country), told USA TODAY Sports.

(The Cowboys’ plan to use a helmet decal as a tribute to the five police officers killed in July's sniper attack was denied by the NFL, according to a published report.)

“I think the league is in a downward spiral regarding their obligations to the public under (Commissioner) Roger Goodell," added Johnson, "and this is just another example of that."

The NFL chose not to provide an official response until the league office had consulted the 49ers, who play the San Diego Chargers on Thursday night in their final preseason game.

Kaepernick, whose refusal to stand for the national anthem has sparked heated debate across the country, has said his act of protest stems in part from police brutality. But his practice socks, which he'd worn as early as Aug. 10, had gone largely unnoticed until now.

Johnson, whose organization represents more than 240,000 active law enforcement officers, said Kaepernick’s decision to wear the socks is not only "disrespectful" but also ignorant.

“It doesn’t seem like he’s thought through or bothered to educate himself about the way (law enforcement officers)  are out there trying to do a very difficult job, and the vast majority of the time get the job done right," Johnson said.

Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem also drew Johnson’s ire, as did the NFL for not taking a public stance against singer Beyonce’s Super Bowl halftime show in February. Her performance was widely viewed as a tribute to the Black Panthers and to St. Louis Rams players who used the “hands up, don’t shoot" pose before a game in 2014 after the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Mo.

“I expect more from the NFL," Johnson said. “The NFL has exhibited — it’s not just tone deafness, it seems to be an act of dislike of police, frankly."

[Braxford]

I agree with Kap's right to protest and not stand. I hope he will use his actions and attention as an effort to help people learn and come together in peace. I DO NOT agree with him wearing the pig cop socks. He has got to know what he is doing, he is not stupid. Oh, he wore them at practice! The NFL is covered 24-7 on multiple networks, of course someone was going to pick up that he had the socks on, and Kap knew it. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes but imho, him wearing those socks have invalidated all or at least most of what he has been doing with his recent actions during the national anthem. Building understanding and basic respect ( not necessarily like or love) can help this issue. Kap had a chance to work at that, but he really messed up with the pig cop socks.

[Bozo the kKklown]

 

The socks are stupid though.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

6 minutes ago, BenningRoadSkin said:

 

The socks are stupid though.

I have to hand it to Kaepernick, he comes off great whenever he addresses these issues. He has the perfect blend of intelligence and defiance. 

[Bang]

On 8/31/2016 at 9:11 PM, KLJ said:

hope he's better at that than quarterbacking.

Well, far be it from me to point out he almost won a Super Bowl...

I mean..  if he's half as good at social activism...  that's more than most of us.

~Bang

[Spaceman Spiff]

3 hours ago, TD_washingtonredskins said:

I have to hand it to Kaepernick, he comes off great whenever he addresses these issues. He has the perfect blend of intelligence and defiance. 

Intelligence, eh?  Explain that one.  

[velocet]

If anyone who is not fond of Kaepernick was hoping that he would flail and fail in the chargers game tonite, well, sorry because so far as of this writing that isn't the case.   The 49ers easily moved the ball down the field 75 yards on the first drive to a touchdown (2 pt conversion failed).    The Chargers fielded their 2nd team D according to the local announcers and if this is the chargers depth they are in serious trouble on D this year.  

[Bang]

He's pledged a million dollars to organizations promoting racial equality.

So there's the 'money where the mouth is' everyone demanded.

~Bang

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Click to read the rest

http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/49ers-Eric-Reid-transcript-The-meeting-that-9199428.php

 

Quote

 

49ers’ Eric Reid transcript: The meeting that inspired a remarkable scene

 

On early Thursday afternoon, at the Westin Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, a black NFL player, a biracial NFLplayer and a white former Green Beret met for over an hour.

And that’s how it came to pass that safety Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick knelt during the playing of the national anthem while Nate Boyer stood to Kaepernick’s left, with his right hand over his heart.

It was a remarkable scene. And Reid explained how it unfolded after the 49ers’ preseason finale Thursday.

The meeting was launched when Boyer, 35, penned a thoughtful open letter to Kaepernick, which inspired the quarterback to invite Boyer to the game as his guest. During their meeting in the hours before the game, Boyer showed the players text messages from military members who were hurt by Kaepernick’s decision to sit on a bench during the national anthem.

Reid had a series of conversations with Kaepernick during the week, but hadn’t decided to join him during the national anthem as of Thursday morning. The meeting with Boyer provided the solution to a misgiving Reid had about not standing during the anthem.

“I felt uncomfortable about sitting. If that was something that I wanted to do,” Reid said. “But talking with Nate - it just came up in conversation. ‘Hey, what if we just took a knee? I think it would be more respectful.’ And Nate agreed with that.”

 

 

 

[TD_washingtonredskins]

13 hours ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

Intelligence, eh?  Explain that one.  

I came into this controversy wanting to hate the guy for it. I already thought I hated him for football and punk reasons. But, his statements appear to be very well-informed, he's being respectful, and putting his money where his mouth is. I don't see how the past week would make anyone question his intelligence one bit. And, believe me, I wanted to and was ready to. 

[Cooleyfan1993]

What I'm wondering is why Collin Kaepernick decided this month that he'd sit during the national anthem and not last season....I doubt whatever made him mad got worse this month than it was last season 

[Bang]

50 minutes ago, Cooleyfan1993 said:

What I'm wondering is why Collin Kaepernick decided this month that he'd sit during the national anthem and not last season....I doubt whatever made him mad got worse this month than it was last season 

What does it matter?

If you come upon information or feelings at one time rather than another, do you have to ignore them?

As you get older, you'll be amazed how your perceptions and perspectives change, and as you loo back,, in  your 20s there is a lot of that.

I'm as cynical as they come, but my cynic's alarm isn't going off on Kaepernick.

~Bang

[dyst]

The issue with which he is protesting against has been going on for decades even if this current incarnation has been brought to the spotlight these last few years. Early on, people spoke out against it, then you had mass protests, and of course you had a few people that took the violent route, none of which helped resolve the underlying issue. What Kap is doing is peacefully protesting. I don't really understand why people are upset with him. The t-shirts and slogans were considered counter-productive, as too were the street protests. Now they have an issue with this as well? I think what he is protesting against is a bigger deal then how he is doing it. 

[Llevron]

Yea, gotta respect the guy for the way he has handled the situation so far. Realised the error in his protest and adjusted. Comes off very intelligent when he speaks too. 

Nothing to really complain about anymore. So I wonder if any of you will try and advance the conversation, since you had so much to say when you were offended. 

[Wyvern]

Frankly, this seemed  me like a less-than-optimal approach for excercising an American's right of freedom of speech.  To me , I had issues about Kaepernick's approach rather than the issue being protested.  However, much of what I'm reading seems to be focused on the issue being protested.

I'd like to offer up the following comparison with a hypothetical example, to illustrate how one's support for an exhibition of protest might be influenced by one's personal views of the issue that was  being protested.

 Text of Colin Kaepernick interview with NFL Media.

      ▪️  "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.  To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."  

   Text of  __some hypothetical pro-life football player __ interview with NFL Media.           

      ▪️ "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that sanctions the killing of tens of thousands of unborn children annually.  To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid for getting away with murder."

I suspect the debates around the hypothetical protestor's actions might be quite different.

++++++++++++++++++++            

Frankly, if you look around, there are there are loads of issues on things happening in the United States (and the world) that one might want to protest about.  And there lots of different ways (and venues) in which one could  register that protest.

 My main beef with Kaepernick's approach, is that  protesting during the the national anthem (or at the flag) is a really easy target, and in some ways it kind of defeats an important 'good thing' that is happening in America.  Because the national anthem and flag raising event is more of a moment (and a symbol) to remind folks  how -- despite their uniqueness and their  differences ---  that they still have something in common uniting them; they are Americans.  

So for Kaepernick to decide to reject even this brief moment of symbolic unity, is a sad thing, because we ALL have things that we'd like to see happening for America.

So should we ALL start protesting in events where everyone's assembled together, in order to show just how much we are divided?  

IMO, it's probably not a good thing.  Because the more we do these kinds of things to generate focus on on how we should be dividing ourselves from each other in this country, the less likely we can remain united enough to maintain the few good things that ARE happening for us, as citizens of the USA.

Also, I've seen much better ways that famous athletes have registered their sentiments on social issues.  I think Kaepernick was being self-indulgent  and taking the easy way to practice his first amendment rights on what was essentially a captive audience.  (In that same vein, perhaps the next protestor at an NFL  football game might decide to start singing a protest song, instead singing of the national anthem?). SMH

 

 

[grego]

3 hours ago, Llevron said:

Yea, gotta respect the guy for the way he has handled the situation so far. Realised the error in his protest and adjusted. Comes off very intelligent when he speaks too. 

Nothing to really complain about anymore. So I wonder if any of you will try and advance the conversation, since you had so much to say when you were offended. 

Kind of. He's explained himself and adjusted (kneeling),  so that's good. 

But the Castro shirt and the pig socks were extremely poor judgment, to be kind. 

Agree that he can sound intelligent, but then he does that stuff. Maybe he's just one of those booksmart guys with no common sense? 

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

 

[Llevron]

3 hours ago, grego said:

Kind of. He's explained himself and adjusted (kneeling),  so that's good. 

But the Castro shirt and the pig socks were extremely poor judgment, to be kind. 

Agree that he can sound intelligent, but then he does that stuff. Maybe he's just one of those booksmart guys with no common sense? 

 

He explained that too. The socks were before the protest and he said they were commentary towards the bad police that help to make the environment less trusting and more difficult for the good, honest and hardworking police. 

I see no wrong there honestly. You can't really argue with that. 

 

The Castro thing.....was stupid. 

[Bang]

lol  threats from the police.

That sure helps, i'm sure.
Way to protect and serve, there, boys.

Message sent: If we don't like what you have to say, we won't do our duty by you.

So which is the bigger slap in the face to America?

 

~Bang

[SlinginSammy HOF '63]

The Niners just can't break the negative publicity. Fullback Bruce Miller beating up old people. What next?

 

[Taylor703]

On September 3, 2016 at 7:35 AM, Bang said:

lol  threats from the police.

That sure helps, i'm sure.
Way to protect and serve, there, boys.

Message sent: If we don't like what you have to say, we won't do our duty by you.

So which is the bigger slap in the face to America?

 

~Bang

It's not part of their actual job. They do these events as overtime so yes, if they feel like what Kaep has done is something they dislike then they should be able to tell the niners to shove it. 

The best part about all of this is we're now at a point where this pretentious jerk off is being defended more than people who risk their lives everyday for ****ty pay. And I'm not one of those #BlueLivesMatter guys either so don't get me confused with someone who will blindly defend the police. 

[Bang]

1 hour ago, Taylor703 said:

It's not part of their actual job. They do these events as overtime so yes, if they feel like what Kaep has done is something they dislike then they should be able to tell the niners to shove it. 

The best part about all of this is we're now at a point where this pretentious jerk off is being defended more than people who risk their lives everyday for ****ty pay. And I'm not one of those #BlueLivesMatter guys either so don't get me confused with someone who will blindly defend the police. 

 

Sorry, but agreements were made and millions upon millions of legally contracted dollars hinge on them providing the service they agreed to do, volunteer or not. People's jobs, paychecks, livelihoods are all now threatened because these "police" don't like someone's political stance. 

So, yeah, they can be incredibly short sighted and thin skinned and pull out of the agreement they made that allows for so much commerce to occur,, ,  and then they can figure out where to get the money for all of the legitimate lawsuits that will come their way.
Imagine how much overtime they will have to pull to pay off all of that?  If they even have a job left after the restitution orders come due.

As usual in our society,, mouth opens before brain engages.

As a force of sworn law enforcement officers, the fact they feel they can police thought through threats should be a big eye opener... whether they are on the clock or not. There is no defense of it, period. 

As soon as they agreed to 'volunteer'.. they became liable for every cent that would be lost if they force a cancellation by backing out of the agreement.

 

~Bang

 

 

[grego]

44 minutes ago, Bang said:

 

Sorry, but agreements were made and millions upon millions of legally contracted dollars hinge on them providing the service they agreed to do, volunteer or not. People's jobs, paychecks, livelihoods are all now threatened because these "police" don't like someone's political stance. 

 

 

its a pretty radical political stance.

within BLM's policy demands, they specifically name 3 individuals and a group (the san francisco 8) that they want to see immediately released. they refer to these people 'freedom fighters'. what they all have in common is that they are all convicted cop killers.

[Bang]

Well, BLM can demand all they want..  there isn't any negotiation for releasing people from prison. The police or judicial system should not even pay attention to it except through legal channels. 

Radical stances..    I imagine it depends on what is being done as opposed to being said. I don't really see Kaep as taking a radical stance.. in fact, considering he's tried to open up dialogue, i'd say it's practically the opposite. He's not being violent, not demanding violence or encouraging it.

Even radical stances are constitutionally protected,,  so long as it's not breaking any laws.

 

But, aside from all of that..  to me this threat by the police union is an attempt to silence dissent through threat. That's not the way we do things in this country, and in as much as police officers are human beings with feelings, too.. they especially have to be able to put personal feelings aside when it comes to performing their duty. And volunteer off the clock or not, they have offered their duty as peace officers to help maintain security. 

So some honest questions. I've never been to a 49ers game. Do the volunteer police

a/ wear their uniforms?
b/ carry weapons?
c/ have full arrest powers as law officers while providing security?

I assume they do, but i do not know. But if they do...  what is it they are volunteering other than lawfully sworn police services? Are they somehow not police,, with full police power? Or are they police who think because they are "volunteering" they are somehow not police, even though they are authorized to act entirely as police?

And another question..  i have noted that in some stadiums "volunteers" of this sort get paid. Do these officers get any compensation at all for the work? Basically,  what's in it for them to even do the job? Are they just doing it for free because they are trained and are equipped already to do it?
(these aren't cynical rhetorical questions,, i honestly don't know, but i think they're important.)

~Bang