When San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick protested the national anthem during “Salute to the Military” night on Thursday, he wasn’t alone.
In his second consecutive week of protest, Kaepernick was joined at his side by teammate Eric Reid. Only this time, per Reid’s suggestion, Kaepernick did not sit quietly on the bench. Rather, the duo kneeled as the national anthem was proudly belted out on the field.
After the game, Reid not only explained his decision to join Kaepernick’s protest, but why the two opted to kneel instead of sit this time around.
“It’s something that’s been on my mind all week and after talking to Colin many times, I talked to him today before the game,” Reid told reporters on Thursday night (via CSN). “People thought it was disrespectful for him to sit down. He was able to decide, ‘What if we took a knee instead of sitting?’
“And that came off as more respectful to the country, to the anthem, to the military. And I agree with that. It shows that he hears that people were hurt by him sitting, but he still believes in the cause that he wants to bring awareness to. So he changed his physical position from sitting down to take a knee to still show respect.”
Meanwhile, around the league, support for Kaepernick’s cause also grew in numbers. In Seattle, cornerback Jeremy Lane took a stand by taking a seat, becoming the first non-49ers player to join the ongoing anthem protest.
After their victory over the Oakland Raiders, head coach Pete Carroll expressed his support of Lane and said he’s “proud” of the progress that’s being made as a part of these protests.
Kaepernick, Reid and Lane all plan to continue their protests until they feel legitimate change has been made in this country.
