COLIN KAEPERNICK SAYS HE WOULD REPEAT ANTHEM PROTEST

Colin Kaepernick says he would again kneel during the US national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality. “I would absolutely do it again,” he said, reflecting on the gesture he made in 2016. Kaepernick believes the protest cost him his NFL career. He said he understood that risk at the time: “I knew the protest could potentially cost me my career.” He first knelt before a San Francisco 49ers pre-season game in September 2016 and repeated the gesture before 11 regular-season games that year.

Kaepernick initially sat during the anthem before changing his protest to kneeling. At the time, he said he could not show pride in a flag “for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour”. Other NFL players followed his example. Some critics said kneeling during the anthem disrespected the military. Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate, called Kaepernick’s action “a terrible thing” and said players who refused to stand should be fired.

The NFL said it would fine teams whose players did not stand for the anthem. Kaepernick said athletes who join wider movements can face consequences beyond losing their careers. He cited the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King while discussing those risks. He also said he took pride in seeing England footballers take the knee.