Colin Kaepernick Supports NFL Players Kneeling During Anthem This Season

Colin Kaepernick may not currently be playing in the NFL, but he is nowhere near finished supporting players that are making a statement about inequality in the world.

Wednesday, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback reposted an article from The Washington Post on Instagram. The topic was Carolina Panthers safety Eric Reid continuing to kneel during the 2019 season.

Kaepernick, who was the first player to be seen kneeling during the National Anthem wrote in the caption: “Unwavering. Unrelenting. Unflinching. Unapologetic. Love you, Brother!”

Reid originally began kneeling alongside Kaepernick when they were both members of the San Francisco 49ers. Even when Kaepernick was no longer in the league, Reid continued to kneel in an effort to raise awareness of racial inequality.

“I’ve always been considering what’s best for the movement,” Reid said in 2018, according to the Washington Post. “I’ve always told myself when the time comes to stop kneeling that I’ll stop — that time has not come.”

As Reid explained to Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer, he will continue to kneel in 2019 and as long as he feels that it is necessary.

“If a day comes that I feel like we’ve addressed those issues, and our people aren’t being discriminated against or being killed over traffic violations, then I’ll decide it’s time to stop protesting,” Reid said. “I haven’t seen that happen.

“It feels like we’re going backwards. You’d like to think we’re past certain things, the way we treat people. I thought we were at a time where you love your neighbor as yourself. But as I’ve studied history — it hasn’t repeated itself necessarily, but it’s dressed a little different and is acting the same.”

Reid and Kaepernick announced in February they had settled their collusion grievances with the NFL, withholding the amount of the settlement. The pair had previously alleged that the 32 teams had banded together to keep them out of the league because of their on-field protests.

Kaepernick currently has no prospects for re-entering the league despite the lack of a defined starter on every team. Reid, on the other hand, recently signed a three-year, $22 million contract extension with the Panthers.

Entering the 2019 regular season, one former member of the San Francisco 49ers will prepare for each game by taking a knee during the National Anthem. The other will simply show support for his former teammate, even if he cannot do so on the football field.