Ex-Seahawk, Green Beret Nate Boyer: 'Not Unpatriotic' to Kneel Before Flag

Former Seattle Seahawks player and Green Beret Nate Boyer tweeted Sunday that it wasn't unpatriotic to kneel before the American flag.

He called it a "symbol of freedom and hope, not yet experienced by ALL":

Boyer famously consulted with Colin Kaepernick in 2016 when the then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback was sitting during the national anthem before preseason NFL games, as a protest to racial injustice and police brutality.

Boyer said that he reached out to Kaepernick because he was upset given what the anthem and American flag symbolically meant to him as a veteran, though he understood and supported the message Kaepernick was sending.

Kaepernick responded, suggesting they meet, and the two of them discussed his protest and came to a compromise—Kaepernick would kneel instead of sitting at the behest of Boyer, who thought it was more respectful.

"In my opinions and in my experience, kneeling's never been in our history really seen as a disrespectful act," Boyer told NPR in 2018. "I mean, people kneel when they get knighted. You kneel to propose to your wife, and you take a knee to pray. And soldiers often take a knee in front of a fallen brother's grave to pay respects. So I thought, if anything, besides standing, that was the most respectful."

Despite that compromise, Kaepernick's kneeling remained highly contentious around the nation and NFL, and remained a hotly debated subject after he went unsigned following the 2016 season, as other NFL players and athletes in other sports continued to kneel and many Kaepernick supporters argued he had been blackballed by the league for his political beliefs.

And given the protests that have broken out around the nation and world condemning systemic racism and police brutality, those conversations will continue this upcoming season.

Several NFL players have already confirmed they plan to kneel during the anthem, including Washington running back Adrian Peterson, Chicago Bears safety Jordan Lucas and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien has also said he'll kneel.