S.F. police union prez: 'Kaepernick has embarrassed himself'

[Obama Legacy]

Talk of Colin Kaepernick's decision to sit down during the
national anthem reached far beyond football Monday.

And many weren't thrilled with the San Francisco 49ers
quarterback's strong words about why he is doing it: to
instigate change and challenge authority when it comes to race
relations and what he considers police brutality.

Martin Halloran, the San Francisco Police Officers Association
president, sent a letter Monday to NFL commissioner Roger
Goodell and 49ers CEO Jed York denouncing Kaepernick's "ill-
advised" statements and a "naivete" and "total lack of
sensitivity" toward police, along with an "incredible lack of
knowledge" about officer-involved shootings.

The police union invited Kaepernick or anyone else from the
league to visit the San Francisco police academy to build
communication and understanding about the profession.

"I only wish Mr. Kaepernick could see the emotional and
psychological challenges that our officers face following a
fatal encounter," Halloran wrote. "Some are so affected they
never return to the streets. In short, Mr. Kaepernick has
embarrassed himself, the 49er organization, and the NFL based on
a false narrative and misinformation that lacks any factual
basis."

Kaepernick, who has sat through the anthem at all three 49ers
preseason games so far, is prepared to keep fighting for what he
believes in, even alone.

"The fact that it has blown up like this, I think it's a good
thing. It brings awareness," Kaepernick said Sunday. "Now, I
think people are really talking about it. Having conversations
about how to make change. What's really going on in this
country. And we can move forward. ...There is police brutality.
People of color have been targeted by police. So that's a large
part of it and they're government officials. They are put in
place by the government. So that's something that this country
has to change. There's things we can do to hold them more
accountable. Make those standards higher."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
 
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17418050/san-francisco-police-
union-president-rips-colin-kaepernick
 

[Dänk 42Ø]

Post by Obama Legacy
Talk of Colin Kaepernick's decision to sit down during the
national anthem reached far beyond football Monday.

Which is his constitutional right.

Post by Obama Legacy
And many weren't thrilled with the San Francisco 49ers
quarterback's strong words about why he is doing it: to
instigate change and challenge authority when it comes to race
relations and what he considers police brutality.
Martin Halloran, the San Francisco Police Officers Association
president, sent a letter Monday to NFL commissioner Roger
Goodell and 49ers CEO Jed York denouncing Kaepernick's "ill-
advised" statements and a "naivete" and "total lack of
sensitivity" toward police, along with an "incredible lack of
knowledge" about officer-involved shootings.

"Ill-advised statements" sounds like something the Chinese KGB
might say to a political dissident, basically a warning that
future such statements will land him in a gulag or mental
hospital. (The Soviets loved locking dissidents in mental
hospitals, as theoretically the Soviet constitution
guaranteed the right to free speech, therefore anyone who
was unhappy with the communist system -- which was perfect
-- must be insane.)

Our national anthem, like our national flag represents the
Constitution of 1789, which gives us the right to protest,
including flying the flag upside-down, burning it, refusing
to stand for the national anthem, or booing during it.
Which is why (except for upside-down thing, which is an
accepted symbol of distress), nobody does it. It is
illogical. But it is a constitutional right, and even if
most think he showed poor judgment, he cannot be fired for
his political beliefs.