article via thegrio.com
On Friday night, cheerleaders for the DeSoto and Cedar Hill high schools’ football teams in Texas knelt during the national anthem before the game between their two schools to protest the treatment of people of color in the United States. What’s more, on Tuesday, the DeSoto girls’ volleyball team took a knee during the national anthem at one of their games as well.
Their actions, and the backlash that followed, didn’t go unnoticed, and Albert Woolum, a white Navy veteran, saw not only the protest but the abuse that the girls suffered and knew he had to act. He found out when the next volleyball game would be and made sure he was there, not only to show his support but also to participate in their protest. During the national anthem, he took a knee, and he spent the entire game in a Black Lives Matter t-shirt.
Woolum later explained his decision to support the girls and their protest: “The decision they made to kneel at their last game, they caught a lot of flak for that. I saw that on the news. I looked when their next game was, and I came to support them to let them know somebody in the white community cares.”
Check out one Twitter reaction, below, and more in the original article:
To read more, go to: White Navy vet kneels in a Black Lives Matter shirt during national anthem | theGrio
Posts tagged as “Colin Kaepernick”
article by Natasha Alford via thegrio.com
In the midst of controversy over his protest of the national anthem, Colin Kaepernick is using the spotlight to address the issues he says inspired his stance.
At Thursday night’s preseason game against the San Diego Chargers, Kaepernick pledged a $1 million dollar donation to groups which address issues of racial and social inequality.
He didn’t offer specific details about which groups would receive donations but explained his intentions.–Veterans show support for football star with #VeteransForKaepernick tweets “I’ve been very blessed to be in this position and to be able to make the kind of money that I do and I have to help these people,’’ said Kaepernick. “I have to help these communities. It’s not right that they’re not put in the position to succeed or given those opportunities to success.’’
Kaepernick also recently joined forces with his girlfriend, Hot 97 radio personality Nessa Diab, to donate $60,000 worth of backpacks to students in Harlem and the South Bronx. As part of his six-year, $114,000,000 deal with the 49ers, Kaepernick’s base salary this year is $11.9 million dollars.
To read full article, go to: Colin Kaepernick pledges $1 million donation to charity for needy communities | theGrio
Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, chose not to stand for the National Anthem at a recent pre-season football game. Players are not required to stand under NFL rules, and Kaepernick was clear about his reasons to remain seated, stating ”I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” Subsequently, he has given interviews about his decision, and the well-thought out reasons behind it.
While Kaepernick has seen some support, he has also faced enormous backlash for his decision – from pundits, from current and former NFL players, from the San Francisco Police Officers’ Association, and predictably, he has been skewered mercilessly on Twitter and in the online commentary sections of various websites.
Some of the online criticism has been of the typically jingoistic “my country – love it or leave it” or “my country – right or wrong” variety that tends to become prevalent when legitimate protest involves the flag, the Pledge of Allegiance or the National Anthem. And these types of criticism are particularly troubling, because they are designed to tell people “you can’t be a good American if you don’t honor this symbol in a particular way.”
I have spent the majority of my career working for the federal government. I am proud to work in a building where the American flag flies, and where pictures of the President and Vice-President are in the lobby. I understand the power and meaning of symbols. And it precisely the power and meaning of symbols that makes protests involving them so resonant – and necessary. I don’t know much about football, but I do know something about the First Amendment. Kaepernick’s actions are fully-protected free speech, and the type of peaceful public protest that has been central to social justice movements.
And for those whose response to Kaepernick is “my country — right or wrong,” it’s time to look at the response to that quote by US Senator Carl Schurz in 1899. Schurz decried the statement as “a deceptive cry of mock patriotism”, and went on to state that the “welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: ‘Our country — when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.’”
Kaepernick saw something he thought was wrong in his country. Like generations of Americans before him, he engaged in a peaceful public protest to bring attention to that wrong, and to make a statement as to how it needed to be put right. And for that he should not be vilified, but applauded.
Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers struck a deal Wednesday on a six-year contract extension, which sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter is worth more than $110 million — including a record $61 million guaranteed.
The deal ties Kaepernick to the 49ers through the 2020 season and puts him among the 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. His signing bonus will be $12 million, sources told Schefter, unique in that most big contracts for quarterbacks are in the range of $24 million to $40 million. Kaepernick was scheduled to make $1.073 million this season.
When signing the contract, Kaepernick specifically requested that it allow the 49ers the flexibility to negotiate extensions with other players such as wide receiver Michael Crabtree. According to one source, Kaepernick specifically asked, “So this structure gives us room to try extensions with my teammates, right?” He was told yes.
“Colin’s hard work and dedication have played an integral role in the recent success of the 49ers organization,” general manager Trent Baalke said in a statement. “His work ethic, leadership and on-field production have positively influenced our team, and we look forward to his continued growth in all areas.”
Since taking over the starting job from Alex Smith midway through the 2011 season, Kaepernick led the 49ers to their first Super Bowl in 18 years after the 2012 season — losing by three points to Baltimore — and then to the NFC title game again last season, a three-point defeat to the Seattle Seahawks, the eventual Super Bowl champion.
The extension is expected to have strong implications for potential deals for Cam Newton, Andy Dalton and Alex Smith this year, along with those for Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson next year, when they are eligible to sign their first contract extensions.
A second-round draft pick out of Nevada in 2011, Kaepernick has thrived under former NFL quarterback Jim Harbaugh — and the coach has said how much he wants the mobile, strong-armed QB around for the long haul. Accomplishing an extension before the season is a big deal as the team begins its first year in $1.2 billion Levi’s Stadium at team headquarters.
“I really expect a real breakout year for Colin. Athletically, he looks bionic,” Harbaugh said during the organized team activity last week. “If you all remember ‘The Six Million Dollar Man,’ that’s what it looks like to me. He’s very gifted and he always has been. He has the look and feel of a guy who’s really going to break out, even more so than he already has. I’m really excited about everything about his game right now.”
More From ESPN Stats & Info
Colin Kaepernick’s extension through the 2020 season reportedly includes $61 million in guaranteed money, the most in any current NFL contract. Other Kaepernick observations:
- Since his first start in Week 11 of 2012, he’s the third-highest-rated QB in the NFL with a Total QBR of 69.6 on the 0-100 scale, behind only Peyton Manning (83.3) and Aaron Rodgers (71.3).
- According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is the sixth-youngest QB in NFL history to start multiple conference championship games. He’s started the last two, beating Atlanta in 2012 and losing to Seattle last season.
- Including the playoffs, his record against the rival Seahawks is 1-3 with 3 TDs and 7 picks, and 20-5 with 35 TDs and 9 INTs vs. all other opponents.
- Since his first start, he is tied for 4th in the league with 17 wins and ranks in the top 7 in both yards per pass attempt and yards per rush.
- He completed 60.5 percent of his passes in the pocket last season, a steep regression from his first year as a starter in 2012 (65.7 percent).
In a sensational playoff debut in January 2013 against Green Bay, Kaepernick used his speed to run for a quarterback-playoff-record 181 yards and two touchdowns. Then, in a season-opening win against the Packers last September, he threw for a career-best 412 yards and three scores.
SAN FRANCISCO — Colin Kaepernick has set an NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a playoff game.
Kaepernick broke Michael Vick’s mark of 119 yards with a 56-yard keeper on an option play in the third quarter of Saturday night’s playoff game against Green Bay. The run gave Kaepernick 163 yards on 12 carries, setting a 49ers franchise record for the postseason. Vick set his record for Atlanta in a 47-17 win over St. Louis on Jan. 15, 2005.
Kaepernick earlier scored on a 20-yard run and also threw two touchdown passes in the first half. He joined Chicago’s Jay Cutler and Cleveland’s Otto Graham as the only players to throw two TD passes and run for two TDs in a playoff game. Graham did it twice.
article by Associated Press via huffingtonpost.com
Kaepernick broke Michael Vick’s mark of 119 yards with a 56-yard keeper on an option play in the third quarter of Saturday night’s playoff game against Green Bay. The run gave Kaepernick 163 yards on 12 carries, setting a 49ers franchise record for the postseason. Vick set his record for Atlanta in a 47-17 win over St. Louis on Jan. 15, 2005.
Kaepernick earlier scored on a 20-yard run and also threw two touchdown passes in the first half. He joined Chicago’s Jay Cutler and Cleveland’s Otto Graham as the only players to throw two TD passes and run for two TDs in a playoff game. Graham did it twice.
article by Associated Press via huffingtonpost.com
Quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick (Stacy Revere/Getty Images) Robert Griffin III. (Rob Carr/Getty Images) & Russell Wilson (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
Young quarterbacks have been the dominant storyline of the 2013 season. Of the 12 NFL playoff teams, six start quarterbacks that are either in their first or second year. The days of needing an established veteran at the quarterback position may be over.
Of those five young starting quarterbacks, three are African-American. Rookies Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson will play each other in the premier wildcard game this weekend, with the Washington Redskins hosting the Seattle Seahawks Sunday afternoon. Colin Kaepernick gets a week off, as he helped lead his San Francisco 49ers to a bye.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) gestures after his second start in an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Nov. 25, 2012. The 49ers defeated the Saints 31-21. (AP Photo/Bill Feig)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Colin Kaepernick will start at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday at St. Louis. Coach Jim Harbaugh made the announcement Wednesday that Kaepernick would go over Alex Smith after the second-year pro led the NFC West-leading Niners (8-2-1) to victories in the past two games, his first two NFL starts.
He says, “Colin we believe has the hot hand.”
Kaepernick has completed 48 of 74 passes for 680 yards and three touchdowns with one interception and was sacked six times. He has a 102.3 passer rating.
Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick, hardly looked happy on the sideline during Sunday’s win over the Saints after being medically cleared from a concussion suffered in the first half of a 24-24 tie against St. Louis on Nov. 11.
article by Janie McCauley via thegrio.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.