Advertisement

NAACP calls for boycott if Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned

By The Sports Xchange
Colin Kaepernick talks with San Francsico 49ers teammate Blaine Gabbert during a game against the New York Jets last season. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI
Colin Kaepernick talks with San Francsico 49ers teammate Blaine Gabbert during a game against the New York Jets last season. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Two prominent organizations showed support for quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his inability to catch on with an NFL team.

The NAACP chapter in Atlanta is calling for all football fans to boycott NFL games by not watching those contests until a team signs Kaepernick.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, a number of current and former New York City police officers, including Frank Serpico, gathered in Brooklyn in support of Kaepernick.

Kaepernick, 29, brought controversy when he decided to kneel during the national anthem prior to NFL games in protest of racism in America. He became a free agent after playing for the San Francisco 49ers last season, but no team has signed him for the coming season.

Gerald Griggs, the vice president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter, said this week that his chapter will boycott all things related to the NFL as long as Kaepernick remains unsigned.

"There will be no football in the state of Georgia if Colin Kaepernick is not on a training camp roster and given an opportunity to pursue his career," Griggs told Fox 5 in Atlanta. "This is not a simple request. This is a statement. This is a demand."

Advertisement

Griggs said the NAACP plans to have a rally at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons, on Sept. 17, which is the day the Falcons play their home opener at their new $1.5 billion stadium.

"If Mr. Kaepernick is not allowed to pursue his career, then on September the 17th, at 5 o'clock, we are going to have the world's largest tailgate, and that tailgate will not go into Mercedes-Benz Stadium," Griggs said, according to CBSSports.com. "We will take a knee, and we will continue to take a knee on the NFL until they act with one voice."

Falcons owner Arthur Blank responded in a statement to Fox 5: "I have long had a record of active opposition to any symbol or behavior that represents exclusion or discrimination, both personally and in keeping with the core values of our businesses. I, along with our Family Foundation, the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United, have never and will never waver from that stance."

Griggs also said the NAACP will gather at NFL headquarters in New York on the same day.

New York has already been the site of gatherings supporting Kaepernick, as about 75 officers came together on Saturday.

Advertisement

One of the former officers was Serpico, the subject of the 1973 film "Serpico."

He told the New York Daily News that he is not a football fan, but felt he needed to support Kaepernick.

Latest Headlines