Colin Kaepernick protests national anthem again, is joined by teammate

San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick continued his protest on Thursday night in San Diego. (AP)

 

Colin Kaepernick took a knee for Thursday’s national anthem, arms folded, expressionless. This time, he had company. He was joined by one of his teammates, and a Seattle Seahawks player a few hours up the California coast who might have been protesting as well.

Kaepernick didn’t stand for the national anthem before the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason finale at the San Diego Chargers. Kaepernick said last Sunday he wouldn’t stand for the national anthem, a protest he started during the 49ers’ first three preseason games. Kaepernick said he is protesting racial injustice in the United States, and police brutality in particular.

49ers safety Eric Reid, who was not in uniform because many starters don’t play in the fourth preseason game, took a knee next to Kaepernick during the anthem and hugged Kaepernick when it was over, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area also said Reid took a knee next to Kaepernick. Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News said many teammates and Nate Boyer, a former University of Texas long snapper and Green Beret, hugged Kaepernick after the anthem. Boyer this week supported Kaepernick’s right to protest during the anthem and tweeted out a photo of him and Kaepernick together on Thursday.

 

	Nate Boyer @NateBoyer37
Thanks for the invite brother... Good talk. Let's just keep moving forward. This is what America should be all about pic.twitter.com/LgjPpjk173 6:23 PM - 1 Sep 2016

Seattle’s Jeremy Lane sits during the national anthem on Thursday in Oakland. (AP)

The two 49ers weren’t alone. According to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times and Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune, Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane sat down during the national anthem before his team’s game against the Raiders in Oakland. Condotta reported it was unclear if Lane was protesting, but he sat for the entire anthem.

NFL Network showed the Chargers-49ers national anthem live, occasionally cutting to shots of Kaepernick sitting. Reid has spoken out about political issues before; he wrote a first-person column for The MMQB in July regarding Alton Sterling being shot and killed by police in his hometown of Baton Rouge, La.

Alex Flanagan of NFL Network said there were San Diego police officers staying close to Kaepernick during pregame warmups. Flanagan said it was because the police wanted to provide extra security for him.