7 NFL Owners Face Deposition and Subpoenas In Kaepernick Suit

A couple of NFL teams are down to giving the local High School players a job as quarterback due to injuries.

And no team has a place for the only active guy who actually took his team to the Superbowl?

 

The Black Player in the NHL Protests The Anthem

There certainly aren’t many black Hockey Players in the NHL…

Only takes one to start a revolution!

Tampa Bay Forward J.T. Brown does the Tommie Smith and John Carlos Salute

Black NHL player gets death threats for raising his fist during the national anthem

J.T. Brown, a forward for the Tampa Bay Lightning professional hockey team, has been getting death threats after he raised his fist during the national anthem at a game this past weekend.

Via ESPN, Brown this week posted a message on his Twitter page talking about the threats and racist abuse that he’s received while raising his fist during the national anthem as a protest against police violence.

“This is not, and has never been, about the military or disrespecting the flag,” Brown said of his decision to protest. “It is about police brutality, racial injustice, and inequality in this country. It is something that I as well as many others feel needs to be addressed. I love my country, but that doesn’t mean I cannot acknowledge that it is not perfect.”

Brown went on to say that the angry threats that he has received for raising his hand during the anthem will not deter him from speaking out on these issues in the future.

“I will continue to be active in the community, and make sure that we are continually striving for a more equal and inclusive environment,” he wrote in his conclusion.

 

Will Black Folks Boycott the NFL Over Kaepernick Blackballing?

Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins – Both teams needing pro-level quarterbacks. Both teams taking a pass on hiring free agent Kaepernick for “political reasons”…

Miami even went so far as to hire Jay Cutler…Who couldn’t hit a receiver on a fade route with somebody hand carrying the ball to the receiver. A real 4 and 12 decision there.

Sounds like a boycott is in order…

 

 

BLM Protest Growing as HS Kids Follow Kaepernick

This is beginning to spread like wildfire…

Entire High School Football Team Kneels During National Anthem

“We haven’t seen this level of athlete activism in nearly half a century. This is a movement,” one expert said.

A San Francisco high school football team took a knee during the national anthem on Saturday to protest racial injustice, following in the footsteps of 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

All players ― Latino, white, Asian and black ― knelt before the game, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

“This is for helping everybody else in the world to understand that black people and people of color are going though difficulties and they need help,” 17-year-old Mission High School quarterback Niamey Harris reportedly told his teammates prior to kickoff. “It’s not going to take care of itself.”

Harris said his team would also kneel for a game on Friday.

Though some are trying to dilute and silence the protest Kaepernick started, it’s refreshing to see how people across the sports world ― including high schoolers ― have joined him.

On Monday, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) accused Kaepernick of “activism sympathetic to ISIS.” It’s unclear whether the lawmaker also thinks the students at Mission High School are terrorists.

In any case, Harris and the boys at Mission have a slew of local and national athletes behind them. NFL teams from the Seattle Seahawks to the Miami Dolphins have knelt, stood arm-in-arm or raised their fists in solidarity. Three black volleyball players from West Virginia University Tech knelt before a game. Professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe joined in (though U.S. Soccer has aired its frustrationwith her protest). The list goes on.

These athletes haven’t just started a discussion ― they’ve inspired action. The 49ers announced plans to donate $1 million to charities focused on racial issues after Kaepernick pledged $1 million of his own money to underserved communities. Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall pledged $300 for every tackle he makes to local organizations “that benefit the Denver community and others through the services, awareness and funds they provide for these critical social issues.”

And their advocacy shows no signs of stopping.

“Throughout the nation, athletes on different levels are finding their voice and recognizing that they have a platform,” Jeremi Duru, a professor of sports law at American University’s law school in Washington, told the Chronicle. “We haven’t seen this level of athlete activism in nearly half a century. This is a movement.”

 

Roland Martin Takes Bill O’Reilly to School on Black Patriotism

This is fun!

 

 

NFL Player Flag Protest Grows

Week by week, the number is growing…

These Athletes Have Joined Colin Kaepernick in Protesting Racial Inequality and Police Brutality

“I’m not against the police. I’m not against the military. I’m not against America. I’m against social injustice.”

…

• Brandon Marshall, Denver Broncos (NFL): When Marshall knelt before last Thursday’s matchup against the Carolina Panthers, he said he was prepared for the backlash that might ensue. And it came for his wallet: The Air Academy Federal Credit Union and CenturyLink broke off partnerships with Marshall over the act. Despite this, Marshall says he plans to continue protesting. “I’m not against the police. I’m not against the military. I’m not against America. I’m against social injustice,” Marshall told MMQB on Friday.
• Jeremy Lane, Seattle Seahawks (NFL): Lane sat on the bench during the national anthem before a preseason game against the Oakland Raiders on September 1. (On Sunday, his teammates joined him, standing and linking arms together. The team’s “demonstration of unity” didn’t exactly go as far as it could have, though, as Jezebel notes.)
• Eric Reid, San Francisco 49ers (NFL): A week after his teammate first opened the door to demonstrations, Reid joined Kaepernick in kneeling during the national anthem on the San Diego Chargers’ “Salute to the Military” night. It came after the two met with free-agent long snapper and former Army Green Beret Nate Boyer, who recently wrote an open letter in the Army Times about the demonstrations.
• Marcus Peters, Kansas City Chiefs (NFL): Before Sunday’s game against San Diego, Peters stood arm in arm with teammates in a sign of solidarity with Kaepernick. He took it one step further, raising his black-gloved right hand in the air during the anthem. “I come from a majority black community from Oakland, California…so the struggle, I seen it,” he told the Associated Press after the Chiefs’ win.
• Arian Foster, Miami Dolphins (NFL): Foster knelt beside three teammates along the sideline before Sunday’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks. “That’s the beautiful thing about this country,” Foster told reporters afterward. “If somebody feels it’s not good enough, they have that right. That’s all we’re doing, exercising that right.”
• Kenny Stills, Miami Dolphins (NFL)
• Michael Thomas, Miami Dolphins (NFL)
• Jelani Jenkins, Miami Dolphins (NFL)
• Jurrell Casey, Tennessee Titans (NFL): Casey raised his fist along with two other teammates after the national anthem at Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings. “A lot of times, a lot of people don’t want to address the issues, and they want us to sit back and be quiet about it,” Casey told reporters. “And I think to bring fairness and (equality) to all races and everything, I thought it was the right thing to do.”
• Jason McCourty, Tennessee Titans (NFL)
• Wesley Woodyard, Tennessee Titans (NFL)
• Martellus Bennett, New England Patriots (NFL): The Patriots tight end and his teammate waited until the end of the anthem to raise their fists—Bennett wearing a black glove, McCourty a white one.
• Devin McCourty, New England Patriots (NFL)
• Robert Quinn, Los Angeles Rams (NFL): The Rams defensive end raised his fists alongside his teammate in Monday’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, joining Kaepernick, Reid, and two other 49ers teammates in protest.
• Kenny Britt, Los Angeles Rams (NFL)
• Antonie Bethea, San Francisco 49ers (NFL): The 49ers safety bowed his headand raised his fist alongside Harold during the anthem on Monday night. They joined Kaepernick and Reid, who each knelt in protest.
• Eli Harold, San Francisco 49ers (NFL)
• Megan Rapinoe, Seattle Reign (National Women’s Soccer League): On September 4, the national team standout knelt during a match against the Chicago Red Stars as a “nod to Kaepernick.” When the Reign played its next game against the Washington Spirit, Spirit team officials decided to preempt the action, playing the anthem before players trotted out to the field. (Before Sunday’s rematch against the Spirit, Rapinoe stood and linked arms with teammates.)
• Michael Oppong, Doherty High School (Worcester, Massachusetts):Oppong, a high school junior, dropped to a knee during the national anthem on Friday. He claimed on Twitter afterward that his coaches and school officials had suspended him for one game. On Monday, school district superintendent Maureen Binienda told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette that Oppong’s action did not violate any school rules and that he would not be punished.

Though the 49ers acknowledged Kaepernick’s right to decline to participate in the anthem, the quarterback’s actions were met with outcry from former players, pundits, and celebrities alike. The Santa Clara Police Officers Associationthreatened to pull officers from working 49ers games if the protests continued. (The union eventually backed off.) NFL commissioner Roger Gooddell told the Associated Press last week that he didn’t “necessarily agree” with Kaepernick’s actions; he added that while he supported players who wanted “to see change in society,” the league believed “very strongly in patriotism in the NFL.”

“To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way,” Kaepernick told NFL.com on August 27. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” He continued a week later, kneeling alongside his teammate Eric Reid before “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Following his initial demonstration, Kaepernick’s jersey sales soared; he announced recently that the proceeds will go to charity. (Both Kaepernick and the 49ers organization have pledged to each send $1 million to Bay Area charities toward “the cause of improving racial and economic inequality.”) Kaepernick’s protest is expected to continue Monday night, when the 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams.