Some have confused Colin Kaepernick’s stance against police violence with an edict against police.
Yet a contingent of mostly black police officers ... and New York City Police Department whistleblower Frank Serpico ... gathered Saturday in New York City to show the blackballed quarterback much love.
The cops and a slew of activists, politicians and others came together under the Brooklyn Bridge to stand with Kaepernick, who many feel risked his livelihood by taking a stand against injustice by kneeling while the national anthem played before NFL games during the 2016 football season.
And in what surely delighted many, the dozens of officers, donning black shirts with the logo “#ImWithKap,” sang the “black national anthem,” formally known as “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” written by James Weldon Johnson.
“What Colin Kaepernick did is try to bring awareness that this nation unfortunately has ignored for far too long,” said NYPD Sgt. Edwin Raymond, who helped organize the event in the city’s Brooklyn borough, according to the New York Daily News.
“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,” Raymond added.
Serpico, famously played by Al Pacino in the 1973 film Serpico, also turned out in support.
“I am here to support anyone who has the courage to stand up against injustice and oppression anywhere in this country and the world,” said the 81-year-old former detective who exposed corruption in the NYPD.
Support for Kaepernick seems to be coming to a crescendo just three weeks before the official start of the season, with the #BlackOutNFL movement and a planned protest in front of NFL headquarters in New York on Aug. 23.
“The fact that this man is no longer in the NFL has nothing to do with stats on the football field, but for taking a knee and pointing out some of the flaws that have been tormenting people of color in this country for decades,” said Darius Gordon of the Justice League NYC.
Read more at the New York Daily News.