Colin likes dudes and that is why he really takes a knee.
Former San Francisco 49er and original anthem protester Colin Kaepernick took to Twitter on Sunday, to thank the two Dolphins players who took a knee during Sunday’s games.
By late afternoon, only two players had taken a knee in protest during the national anthem, Dolphins players Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson. After their actions, Kaepernick tweeted out his thanks to his “brothers,” ESPN reported.
“My Brothers @kstills and @ithinkisee12 continue to show their unwavering strength by fighting for the oppressed!,” Kaepernick tweeted. “They have not backed down, even when attacked and intimidated. Their courage will move the world forward!
My Brothers @kstills and @ithinkisee12 continue to show their unwavering strength by fighting for the oppressed! They have not backed down, even when attacked and intimidated. Their courage will move the world forward!
Fellow former 49er, Eric Reid, also tweeted out his thanks to the two Dolphins players.
Stills and Wilson were not the only players to mount some form of protest. Fellow Dolphins player Robert Quinn raised his fist. 49ers receiver Marquise Goodwin also raised his fist as the 49ers prepared to take on the Minnesota Vikings. In addition, Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Telvin Smith Jr. of the Jaguars stayed in the locker room during the anthem.
Kaepernick, of course, created the protest during the national anthem at the start of the 2016 NFL season and fellow 49er Reid was quick to join him in the attention-getting act. Both Kaepernick and Reid, though, have been on the sidelines and without a team, once they each went free agent, Kaepernick at the end of the 2016 season and Reid in 2017.
Both players have also filed separate grievances against the NFL claiming that the league, owners, and coaches “colluded” to keep them from pursuing their NFL careers. Recently an arbitrator ruled that Kaepernick’s challenge would go to trial.
These idiots will never get it so make sure you don’t forget next year.
The revolution will be televised, that’s the word coming down from NBC executives who say they will televise any player who chooses to protest the anthem during the Super Bowl.
“When you are covering a live event, you are covering what’s happening,” NBC Sports EP Fred Gaudelli told reporters at the Television Critics Association on Tuesday.
“If there are players who choose to kneel, they will be shown live,” he said.
Gaudelli explained that, if a player chose to protest during the anthem, NBC broadcasters Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth would likely give the players’s name, some background on the a protests, and then “get on with the game.”
According to Fox News, “The anthem will be aired live and is scheduled to be performed by Pink. Potential protesters will have an opportunity to make a statement in front of a massive audience, as 112.2 million people watched Super Bowl LI last season – the fifth most-watched program in television history.”
The NFL’s anthem protest movement began in the preseason of 2016, when then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat, then knelt, in protest against police brutality. Kaepernick continued his protest throughout the 2016 season, but has not suited-up for another NFL team since walking away from his contract in San Francisco at the end of that year.
Despite Kaepernick’s absence in 2017, the protest movement he began continued without him. Increasing in intensity during Week 3 of the season, after President Trump blasted the protesting players at a political rally. During that weekend over 200 players, executives, and coaches, protested the anthem and President Trump.
However, after that weekend, the number of protesting players dwindled to the point where only 19 players protested in the final week of the season.
With the NFL’s Week 11 action wrapping up, it quickly became clear that football fans had found other things to do as thousands of empty seats could be seen in stadiums from coast to coast.
With TV ratings off nearly 20 percent over all and the networks already known to have lost up to $500 million in ad revenue, it is becoming clear that last year’s 12 percent decline wasn’t because of the raucous political season, a claim that served as the excuse for the 2016 season’s ratings loss.
The ratings slide is reflected in the skimpy attendance at the stadiums, too, with Week 11 photos showing that there are still empty seats galore.
To cite just a few:
As the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Denver Broncos, it appears that Denver fans stayed home from Mile High Stadium. Lots of unsold seats available:
The situation was no better in Cleveland at First Energy Stadium as the Browns got crushed both in attendance and by the Jacksonville Jaguars, 19-7:
The New York Giants may have toppled the Kansas City Chiefs in a 12-9 final, but fans weren’t there to see it at Met Life Stadium:
The Green Bay Packers apparently didn’t pack the stands as they got totally blown out by the Baltimore Ravens in a pitiful 23-0 final. But, the crowd at Lambeau Field was just as pitiful:
Accurate description for crowd at Hard Rock Stadium right now
Finally, the Houston Texans were able to beat the Arizona Cardinals 31-21, but were not able to fill seats as effectively:
With some analysts saying that the worst of the TV ratings fall may have peaked for 2017, the seats in stadiums are still going unfilled with only 6 more weeks of the season to go.