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Colin Kaepernick Supporters Hold Rally Outside NFL Headquarters in New York
August 23, 2017
Activists held a "United We Stand" rally outside the NFL's headquarters in New York City on Wednesday in support of free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
ESPN's Coley Harvey and Josina Anderson provided a look at the crowd:
According to The Undefeated's Jason Reid, estimates had the size of the crowd at 1,200 people.
The NAACP was among the groups attending the rally and wore special T-shirts dedicated to Kaepernick, which the MMQB's Tim Rohan shared below:
The NAACP elaborated on Twitter its aim was to highlight the issues to which Kaepernick had drawn attention:
Prior to the rally, the NAACP wrote a letter asking to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about opening a dialogue regarding Kaepernick and players' exercising their First Amendment rights, per the New York Times' Malika Andrews:
The event comes days after members of the New York Police Department assembled in Brooklyn, New York, wearing shirts with the slogan "#ImWithKap."
"What Colin Kaepernick did is try to bring awareness that this nation unfortunately has ignored for far too long," NYPD Sgt. Edwin Raymond said, per the New York Daily News' Dale E. Eisinger and Larry McShane. "And that's the issue of racism in America and policing in America. We decided to gather here today because of the way he's being railroaded for speaking the obvious truth."
When he began his national anthem protest last year, Kaepernick told NFL Network's Steve Wyche he didn't want to "show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."
"To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way," Kaepernick said. "There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."
More NFL players followed Kaepernick's lead, either taking a knee or raising a fist to show solidarity with the 29-year-old passer. Kaepernick, however, remains unsigned after opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in March.
Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman is among those who believe NFL owners have effectively frozen Kaepernick out of the league:
Kaepernick met with the Seattle Seahawks in May, but the Seahawks chose to go in a different direction. The Baltimore Ravens also considered adding him before deciding against the move.