Saturday Open Thread | Santa Clara Police threaten to boycott games over Kaepernick’s protest

Posted on September 3, 2016 by SouthernGirl2

KaepernickThe union for the police force that patrols San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium threatened to not work home games over Colin Kaepernick’s continued protest of the national anthem, according to a published report.

The Santa Clara Police Officers’ Association said if the 49ers failed to take action against Kaepernick’s pregame protest, officers could respond by “choosing not to work at your facilities,” according to a letter written by union members obtained by NBC Bay Area. About 70 Santa Clara police officers staff home games.

Santa Clara Police Department spokesperson Lt. Dan Moreno told USA TODAY Sports in a text message that the agency would issue a response to the letter on Saturday.

The 49ers are scheduled to open the season at Levi Stadium against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, Sept. 12 as part of a national television doubleheader.

Kaepernick was photographed Wednesday wearing socks that displayed cartoon pigs wearing police hats. He said he has worn them before, but this time the socks grabbed national attention, coming just five days after it also became known that he has chosen to sit during the national anthem before 49ers’ games.

The socks — along with Kaepernick’s comments on police brutality — were mentioned in the letter.

“It was learned by the members of the SCPOA that the 49er organization has been allowing Mr. Kaepernick to wear exposed socks with the image of a pig wearing a police hat during practices at the training camp in Santa Clara,” the union said in the letter. “Photos of Mr. Kaepernick wearing these socks with the derogatory image have been broadcast nationally.”

The 49ers, according to the report, said Friday they continue to stand behind the statement they first made when Kaepernick’s protest was first publicized.

In that statement, the team said “In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose to participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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94 Responses to Saturday Open Thread | Santa Clara Police threaten to boycott games over Kaepernick’s protest

  2. Liza says:
    September 3, 2016 at 9:28 pm

    When babies notice your "outreach" is so FAKE!! #TrumpInDetroit pic.twitter.com/ZnkfgxEb4U— African Fighter (@Africanfighter) September 3, 2016

    //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

    Reply
  9. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 6:57 pm

    Charles M. Blow
    ‏Trump need to go to one of the blk churches I grew up in. Those ladies on “The Mother Board” can sniff out the devil at 100 paces…

    Reply
    • yahtzeebutterfly says:
      September 3, 2016 at 6:31 pm

      https://youtu.be/QUGWwC61AsU&rel=0
      ” Published on Sep 1, 2016
      Colin Kaepernick and Nessa donated $60,000 worth of backpacks to students in South Bronx and Harlem. At this location, they donated over 450 backpacks. Nessa was there alongside South Bronx RBI at Patterson Family Day meeting all the families and the students returning to school in the upcoming week.”

      Reply
  31. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    Leslie Proll @LeslieProll
    Powerful piece by @arishapiro @npr on housing discrimination against Black middle class. Home values based on race

    Reply
  32. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    bria @BriJamie
    white boy: *commits rape*
    y’all: “ex-swimmer brock tur-”
    black man: *pulls baby out of burning building*
    y’all: “former gang member saves-“

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 4:04 pm

    Dante Boykin @DanteB4u
    Racist texts at center of probe of dozen Santa Clara County jail guards http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_29200016/racist-texts-at-center-probe-dozen-santa-clara … The mentality that #Kaepernick protests.

    Reply
  34. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 4:04 pm

    Eric Bogan @bogan3253
    @Gus_802 what’s really lame is that ppl like Thrush think pressers in front of Black and Latino journos don’t count.

    Reply
  38. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    Deadspin ✔ @Deadspin
    VIDEO: Jason Whitlock lectures Colin Kaepernick at presser, gets ignored. http://deadsp.in/C4qsHWu

    Reply
  39. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 3:19 pm

    The White Privilege of Lena Dunham’s Comments on Odell Beckham Jr.

    BY MIKELLE STREET
    Mikelle Street is a Manhattan-based freelance writer that talks a lot about fashion and a little bit about everything else. Catch him recklessly popping off on Twitter. @MikelleStreet

    In a Q&A with Amy Schumer for Friday’s issue of Lenny Letter, Lena Dunham took aim at Odell Beckham Jr. by claiming that he slighted her for her appearance (she wore a tuxedo) at this year’s Met Gala. “I was sitting next to Odell Beckham Jr., and it was so amazing because it was like he looked at me and he determined I was not the shape of a woman by his standards,” she told Schumer. “The vibe was very much like, ‘Do I want to fuck it? Is it wearing a … yep, it’s wearing a tuxedo. I’m going to go back to my cell phone.’ It was like we were forced to be together, and he literally was scrolling Instagram rather than have to look at a woman in a bow tie. I was like, ‘This should be called the Metropolitan Museum of Getting Rejected by Athletes.’”

    To be clear, the Met Gala is a tightly controlled event. Take a look at this year’s film The First Monday in May, which documents how Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art put it all together. Conde Nast Artistic Director Anna Wintour personally vets and re-vets the guest list, and organizes and re-organizes the seating arrangements. You’re a sponsor and you get a certain allotment of table seats? Wintour and Vogue still have to approve who you’d like to invite, and usually the publication makes the first step and suggests who you should invite. So when Lena Dunham says, “It was like we were forced to be together,” it’s worth noting that’s true—they were quite literally forced to sit together, not only at the same table but in whatever arrangement at that table that they were in.

    That said, being seated next to Lena Dunham does not mean one has a requirement to address Lena Dunham. Odell Beckham Jr. owed the actress/director nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero. As far as we can tell, he didn’t even know her prior to this event. So why on God’s green earth, in the year of our lord 2016, would Beckham’s lack of acknowledgement be construed as some sort of anti-feminist ploy built on ideas surrounding objectification? Might it be Dunham’s own privilege?

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      September 3, 2016 at 3:28 pm

      U h uh UH. Lena, girl, this kind of behavior and talk is what got Emmett Till and countless other black men LYNCHED.

      That MANDINGO fantasy in 2016 I alive and well.

      The thought that Odell Beckman Jr. would ever want to fuck you Lena, IT’S LAUGHABLE!

      Reply
  40. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    Charles M. Blow ✔ @CharlesMBlow
    In the primaries, Trump only got abt 1,600 of Detroit’s roughly 120k votes cast. EVERY Trump voter could have fit in that half-empty church…

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      September 3, 2016 at 1:43 pm

      Charles M. Blow ✔ @CharlesMBlow
      Trump on interview with Bishop Jackson: “I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into.”

      Me: Dude, you had a SCRIPT!!!

      Reply
  41. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 1:37 pm

    jelani cobb ✔ @jelani9
    Trump just drove by. Waved to crowd, greeted by chorus of boos.

    Reply
  51. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    September 3, 2016 at 12:52 pm

    https://twitter.com/HYPETRAK/status/772057521045602304

    From the linked article:

    “The event will “South by South Lawn” and will be a partnership with SXSW. The festival is said to include short student films, live performances and feature panel discussions.”

    Reply
  52. Liza says:
    September 3, 2016 at 12:50 pm

    Response to protest shows the power of the sports machine
    Sep 2, 2016
    Howard Bryant
    ESPN Senior Writer
    …
    The fragile relationship between police and African-Americans is in deep crisis, anecdotally and statistically, and when Kaepernick expressed his awakening by refusing to stand for the national anthem, he and any peers considering similarly expressing themselves learned how society will respond to their citizenship and dissent: by using a playbook of distortion and misdirection as old and predictable as the Packer sweep.

    For the past two years, after Michael Brown’s killing in Ferguson gave rise to a volatile America divided by police and protest, the sports machine — rooted in the structure of black player/white media/white ticket buyer/white owner — was largely silent. Some prominent black players expressed support for the protesters; virtually no white male players did. With the exception of the Baltimore Orioles, teams have ignored the grief of their large black fan bases and abandoned their historical neutrality on social issues in favor of hero worship of police at the ballpark, supported by a white mainstream that is rarely the target of police aggression.

    Kaepernick protested, and the reaction was predictable. White athletes and the predominantly white media, once largely silent, finally spoke but said very little about the substance of his dissent. They opted for intimidation by pile-on. Athletes and pundits were canvassed, leaving the likes of Drew Brees and Boomer Esiason — who have no record of scholarship, interest or knowledge regarding police brutality — to distort Kaepernick’s position into a lazy, pseudo-erudite conversation about patriotism. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson said something while saying nothing. “I understand and respect the cause … but I love the flag,” he said, only adding to a false argument designed to reinforce the foundation of the establishment.

    The response to Kaepernick was an up-close view of the machine and the powerful components that combine to make it work. He exposed the mainstream impulse to discuss social issues only within boundaries that empower it. On its face, the concept of what the flag stands for is uncomplicated, and pouring Kaepernick’s statement through the funnel of patriotism allows the majority to remain on the offensive. It allows a smothering of thought to masquerade as courage, for people to maintain their delusions and lack of knowledge while appearing to be provocative. Too many of Kaepernick’s critics know nothing — and have shown they don’t care to know — about the black community, its relationship with police or the staggering statistics that have driven thousands to the streets.

    The response also exposes just how thoroughly unprepared the mainstream is to comprehend America through the lens of the black Americans they cheer and work alongside. Real, difficult concepts — like America not living up to the ideals of its flag (as the Dixie Chicks protested in 2003, to similar backlash), or how police could shoot a 12-year-old child in Cleveland and go unpunished, or how federal oversight of local police was granted in response to officers beating Rodney King when Kaepernick was 3 years old — are met with hostility and simplistic narratives about patriotism and freedom of speech.

    This outrage was never intended to consider Kaepernick’s politics, but it did serve an important purpose for the machine by allowing his questions of race, class and policing to remain ignored. It allowed the illusion of discussion to isolate the dissenter while reinforcing the authority of an establishment whose calls for “healing” do not translate into police reform. It allowed players to pander without thinking and created enough backlash and fear — anonymous quotes from executives have threatened to essentially blackball Kaepernick from the NFL — to give other dissenters financial pause before protesting.

    Meanwhile, Laquan McDonald remains without justice, as do Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile and Tamir Rice. The opportunity to understand Kaepernick’s worldview is all but gone, replaced by a useless referendum on who loves the flag.

    http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17445600/san-francisco-49ers-qb-colin-kaepernick-message-was-ignored-actions

    Reply
    • yahtzeebutterfly says:
      September 3, 2016 at 1:04 pm

      This:

      “The response to Kaepernick was an up-close view of the machine and the powerful components that combine to make it work. He exposed the mainstream impulse to discuss social issues only within boundaries that empower it.”

      Reply
  54. Ametia says:
    September 3, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    Trump in Detroit with his slave-catcher Omorosa and Ben Carson

    Reply
  55. Ametia says:
    September 3, 2016 at 11:21 am

    Let’s not FORGET HILLARY CLINTON and her shady ass dealings.

    The email shenanigans just get more fucked up every week.

    Reply
  56. Ametia says:
    September 3, 2016 at 11:02 am

    SENSIBLE BLACK FOLKS AREN’T HAVING ANY PARTS OF TRUMP

    sen·si·ble –adjective

    adjective: sensible

    1.
    (of a statement or course of action) chosen in accordance with wisdom or prudence; likely to be of benefit.
    “I cannot believe that it is sensible to spend so much”

    synonyms: practical, realistic, responsible, reasonable, commonsensical, rational, logical, sound, balanced, grounded, sober, no-nonsense, pragmatic, levelheaded, thoughtful, down-to-earth, wise, prudent, judicious, sagacious, shrewd
    “isn’t this the sensible thing to do?”

    Reply
  59. Ametia says:
    September 3, 2016 at 9:35 am
    Reply
  62. rikyrah says:
    September 3, 2016 at 5:44 am

    Good Morning 😊, Everyone 😆

    Reply
    • yahtzeebutterfly says:
      September 3, 2016 at 10:00 am

      Excellent article at the tweeted link.

      Reply
    • yahtzeebutterfly says:
      September 3, 2016 at 10:33 am

      Well, Colin Kaepernick has shown us the huge power that just one sports celebrity person can have when he stands up for a just cause. He’s got the White football world in a tizzy and has generated tons of media articles which tell about the cause he is advocating. That’s power.

      Reply
      • Ametia says:
        September 3, 2016 at 11:15 am

        The article IS.ON.POINT. The reality is folks want Colin K. to shut up, obey, and play football.

        Let white men like Stephen Colbert and other white & black comedians spill the truth. It’s the one arena where it can be delivered that is half way acceptable to folks.

        Even Larry Wilmore’ show has been cancelled. He’ a comedian, but since he’s black, using that platform to enlighten about RACISM is not acceptable.

        The reason the network I giving about cancelling how? Viewers say Wilmore’ not funny.

        BULLSHIT! Only the white gaze can talk about RACISM. How fucked up is that. The very ethnic group that perpetuates RACISM gets to dictate who, when, where, and how it will be discussed.

        REALLY?!!

        Reply
      • yahtzeebutterfly says:
        September 3, 2016 at 11:39 am

        You nailed it, Ametia with every word of you comment.

        “The very ethnic group that perpetuates RACISM gets to dictate who, when, where, and how it will be discussed.
        REALLY?!!”

        With his courageous determination Colin Kaepernick has shown that he has “something inside so strong.”

        ” The more you refuse to hear my voice
        The louder I will sing.”

        https://youtu.be/otuwNwsqHmQ&rel=0

        Reply
    • Liza says:
      September 3, 2016 at 10:49 am

      I agree with Yahtzee, this is an excellent article.

      We’ve watched this so-called controversy over the course of several days and I have mostly grown weary over all the discussion about disrespecting the flag, the national anthem, not being patriotic, etc…

      As predicted, lost in this discussion (using the term loosely) is the reason why Mr. Kaepernik is protesting, and that is intentional. Those who like this country the way it is really just want this to go away. So, as usual, they believe they can relentlessly attack the messenger for a couple of weeks and he’s done. And the reason for his protest? They really don’t care, they like things the way they are.

      But what should be increasingly apparent to more reasonable folks is that white supremacy manifests itself in many ways. Right now it’s hiding behind a flag in an effort to silence a young man who couldn’t endure more state sanctioned killings of young black people without speaking out, which is his constitutional right.

      Reply
      • Ametia says:
        September 3, 2016 at 11:05 am

        Yes The MESSAGE:

        A flag and song, fuck the brutality and killings of Black PEOPLE!

        Reply
      • yahtzeebutterfly says:
        September 3, 2016 at 11:10 am

        “And the reason for his protest? They really don’t care, they like things the way they are.”

        They are hardhearted and without a conscience.

        THIS:

        “But what should be increasingly apparent to more reasonable folks is that white supremacy manifests itself in many ways. Right now it’s hiding behind a flag in an effort to silence a young man who couldn’t endure more state sanctioned killings of young black people without speaking out, which is his constitutional right.”

        Reply
  66. SouthernGirl2 says:
    September 3, 2016 at 2:00 am

    Good morning, everyone. Enjoy your holiday weekend. Stay safe.

    Reply

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