Before the first NFL game of the year, Colin Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, made headlines for first sitting and then kneeling during the national anthem.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said, explaining his actions. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
The quiet protest has sparked debate and led to similar protests from football players, cheerleaders and even band-members of every level across the county.
On Thursday, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin took things a bit further when he “demanded” every state’s policing policies be reviewed by its attorney general.
The statement came a few days after a Tulsa police officer fatally shot an unarmed black man named Terence Crutcher and police in Charlotte fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott, another black man.
“This is not an isolated incident,” said Baldwin, according to ESPN. “This is not an isolated conversation. This is not isolated just to some specific parts of our country.”
Baldwin, the son of a police officer, stressed that he isn’t speaking of all police:
“Now this is not an indictment of our law enforcement agencies. I just want that to be clear. We know that there’s a select few – a very minute few – of law enforcement who are not abiding by those laws and policies. However, we also know that there are laws and policies that are in place that are not correcting the issue that we have in our society right now.”
In fact, he said that his father had chatted with him about how he attempts to de-escalate situations.
“My father’s a police officer, and he’s told me numerous times about his training and how they’ve gone through what they call verbal judo, which is essentially them trying to de-escalate the situation. From what I understand, and from what he’s told me and his experience in homeland security, is that that method of training is not consistent throughout the entirety of the United States. And that’s an issue.”
Finally, he called on every state’s attorney general to review its policing policies.
“So as an American, a black male in this country, I’m suggesting, calling – I’m demanding that all 50 state attorney generals call for a review of their policies and training policies for police and law enforcement to eliminate militaristic cultures while putting a higher emphasis on de-escalation tactics and crisis management measures.”
In response, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson tweeted, via the AG’s official account, that he had seen Baldwin’s remarks and wanted to sit down with Baldwin.
Baldwin isn’t the first member of the Seattle Seahawks to speak out. In fact, players affiliated with the association have been particularly vocal.
After Kaepernick’s protest sparked a national controversy, Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane also sat during the national anthem in solidary with the 49ers quarterback.
Retired Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, infamous for his one-word answers that offered no opinions, recently shared his thoughts on “Conan.”
“With what’s going on, I’d rather see him take a knee than stand up, put his hands up and get murdered,” Lynch said. “My take on it is: [expletive], they got to start somewhere . . . I just hope people open up their eyes and see that there’s really a problem going on and something needs to be done for it to stop.”
On Wednesday, the team’s star cornerback Richard Sherman, meanwhile, criticized the public for not fully listening to the message protesting NFL players are attempting to send.
“More videos have come out of guys getting killed, and I think people are still missing the point,” Sherman said. “The reason these guys are kneeling, the reason we’re locking arms is to bring people together to make people aware that this is not right. It’s not right for people to get killed in the street.”
Added Sherman, “When a guy takes a knee, you can ignore it. You can say he’s not being patriotic, he’s not honoring the flag,” Sherman said. “I’m doing none of those things. I’m saying it straight up. This is wrong and we need to do something.”
