Kaepernick to donate his 1st mil, get boots on ground, has plan & loves his country (video pre-edit via @nflnetwork) pic.twitter.com/WSZJnflZsm
— Will Reeve Jr (@WillReeveJr) September 2, 2016
In a news conference following the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers Thursday night preseason game, quarterback Colin Kaepernick addressed media members about his protest of the national anthem.
Critics have come out against him because they believe his protest takes away from a preseason finale that was meant to honor military servicemen.
But Kaepernick states that the media has misconstrued the meaning of his protest.
The QB says he supports the troops and he is not un-American for sitting during the national anthem.
Before yesterday’s game, teammate Eric Reid joined the QB in his protest.
“As far as taking a knee tonight, Eric [Reid] — as well as myself — had a long conversation with Nate Boyer, who is a military vet,” Kaepernick states. “And we were talking to him about, ‘How can we get the message back on track? And not take away from the military. … But keep the focus on what the issues really are.’ ”
He adds that he respects the men and women who fight for this country.
“As we talked about it, we came up with taking a knee, because there are issues that still need to be addressed. And it was also a way to try to show more respect to the men and women that fight for this country.”
Furthermore, Kaepernick believes that his platform allows him an opportunity to speak for those without a voice.
“I’ve been very blessed to be in this position and to be able to make the kind of money I do. And I have to help these people. I have to help these communities. It’s not right that they’re not put in a position to succeed or given those opportunities to succeed.”
He capped off his address by announcing that he will donate $1 million to various charities.
