A group of New York City Police Department officers came together Saturday to rally in support of Colin Kaepernick, who has been struggling to find work as a quarterback in the NFL since he chose to sit out the national anthem last season.
About 80 officers gathered by the Brooklyn Bridge to show that there were police officers who did support Kaepernick’s campaign to highlight the police brutality that people of color face in America.
“What Colin Kaepernick did is try to bring awareness that this nation unfortunately has ignored for far too long,” said NYPD Sgt. Edwin Raymond.
“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.”
Kaepernick has not been signed by an NFL team for the upcoming season, even though a number of teams need a quarterback with his type of expertise and skill. For example, the Dallas Cowboys chose to sign Luke McCown in July over Kaepernick, despite the latter being the obvious superior player, analysts agreed.
Former police officer Frank Serpico was the most high-profile name at the Saturday rally. He is known for his anti-corruption efforts in 1970s, which were later fictionalized in the Al Pacino-led film, Serpico.
A second round of protests has taken form this season with players from the from the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, and Tennessee Titans joining protests, ABC News reports. The Raiders’ Marshawn Lynch is the most high-profile NFL player so far to sit through the national anthem.