Seahawks Postpone Colin Kaepernick Visit After Ex-49ers QB Refuses To Say He’ll Stop National Anthem Protests

Colin Kaepernick seems to be likely to continue his national anthem protests, and the Seattle Seahawks decided to delay a meeting with the free agent because of his stance on the issue.

Colin Kaepernick’s meeting with Seahawks postponed

On Thursday, the Seahawks had invited the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback to work out with the team, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. However, the franchise postponed Kaepernick’s visit, reportedly because he refused to explicitly say that he would stop protesting the national anthem by kneeling (or in other ways) next season. It was not revealed when exactly Kaepernick’s workout would take place, if it ever will happen.

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Kaepernick started kneeling during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before a preseason game in August 2016 and has since sparked dozens of similar protests intended to make statements about racial inequality, police brutality and other types of oppression across the country. Many other NFL players and other athletes have followed Kaepernick’s protest by kneeling or sitting, a move that has drawn both praise and criticism. President Donald Trump is among the most fervent opponents of the protests, saying it is disrespectful to the flag and anthem. Trump even threatened to punish NFL teams who engaged in these protests with fines and other penalties.

Trump said that if he was a football team owner, he would say of any player who engaged in that type of behavior: “Get that son of a b— off the field! You’re fired!”

Kaepernick was released by the 49ers in March 2017 and has been a free agent since then, and no NFL team has been willing to sign him. The QB filed a grievance late last year accusing all 32 teams of colluding to keep him out of the league.

According to ESPN, the Seahawks signed former Washington Redskins quarterback Stephen Morris on Friday.

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In related news, the Cincinnati Bengals recently met with free-agent safety Eric Reid, a former 49er who also protested the national anthem.

Kaepernick helped lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, although they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

Seattle head coach Pete Carroll stated in June that he believed Kaepernick would eventually be allowed to rejoin the NFL.

“He’s a starter in this league,” said Carroll of the QB. “We have a starter, but he is a starter in this league, and I can’t imagine somebody won’t give him a chance to play.”