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  • 2017-09-28 (xsd:date)
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  • Did a U.S. Veteran Influence Kaepernick's 'Take a Knee' Protest of Police Brutality? (en)
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  • In September 2017, as many criticized the take a knee protests by National Football League players as anti-military, readers wrote in to ask if a veteran had played a role in Colin Kaepernick's decision to kneel during the national anthem in protest of police killings of African Americans. Army Special Forces veteran Nate Boyer has said that his conversations with Kaepernick influenced the former NFL player to kneel, rather than sit, during the anthem. Kaepernick began his protest by sitting on the bench during the anthem prior to a preseason game on 14 August 2016 when he was playing for the San Francisco 49ers. He was not in uniform at the time. The protest began garnering coverage when journalist Jennifer Lee Chan captured him sitting (this time in uniform) in a photograph prior to the team's third preseason game on 26 August 2016. Two days later, Kaepernick spoke to reporters about the protest. The encounter included this exchange: When asked whether his protest could be construed as a blanket indictment of law enforcement in general, Kaepernick said: On 30 August 2016, the Army Times published an open letter to Kaepernick from former Seattle Seahawks player Nate Boyer, who served as a Green Beret in U.S. military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq. In the piece, Boyer reflected on how he felt standing on the field as the anthem played during his only appearance for the Seahawks: Boyer and Kaepernick met after the open letter was published, and before San Francisco's final preseason game on 2 September 2016 in San Diego -- the first time the quarterback knelt in front of the bench instead of sitting during the anthem. Boyer posted a photograph of himself with Kaepernick following the meeting, and later said: Kaepernick's then-teammate Eric Reid joined him in kneeling for the protest prior to that game. He recalled the experience in an op-ed published by The New York Times on 25 September 2017: Boyer also expanded on his discussion with both Reid and Kaepernick during a CNN town hall broadcast on 27 September 2017: Although Kaepernick is not currently signed to a team, various NFL players and team owners adopted the kneeling protest prior to games on 24 September 2017 after President Donald Trump told supporters during a rally that owners should fire any player who engaged in the demonstration, saying, Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he's fired. He's fired. (en)
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