The San Francisco 49ers raised a Black Lives Matter flag at its stadium alongside the American flag and California state flag.
The former NFL team of social justice advocate Colin Kaepernick posted a picture of the three flags to its Instagram account on Monday with a quote from the Pledge of Allegiance, reading, “Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
The CEO of the 49ers, Jed York, said this week that the team is “focused on taking actions” as protests, and in some cases riots, have spread across the country, calling for an end to police brutality and systemic racism.
“First and foremost, you’re saddened and outraged when you see events take place, especially when they’re specifically violent events that are targeted at African-Americans,” York said, according to the San Jose Mercury News. “We’re focused on taking actions.”
“When Colin started a protest movement in 2016, what we had talked about in talking to Dr. Harry Edwards, his message which we’ve adopted was to take protests to progress,” he added, referring to Kaepernick.
Kaepernick was the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and racism in the United States. He became a free agent in 2017 and recently settled with the football league over claims that it colluded against him to keep him out of a job.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier this month that he would welcome and encourage a team to bring Kaepernick back to football.
“Well, listen, if he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously it’s going to take a team to make that decision,” he said. “But I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that.”
“If his efforts are not on the field but continuing to work in this space, we welcome him to that table and to help us, guide us, help us make better decisions about the kinds of things that need to be done in the communities. We have invited him in before, and we want to make sure that everybody’s welcome at that table and trying to help us deal with some very complex, difficult issues that have been around for a long time,” he continued.
“We’re working with communities to make a difference. We’re allowing our employees and players to let their voices be heard,” York added about the move to raise the Black Lives Matter flag.
