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More than two years after San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose to sit as a form of silent protest during the national anthem, a non-NFL cheerleader identified has followed suit. A 49ers cheerleader was seen kneeling at the national anthem on Thursday when the 49ers clashed with the local rival Oakland Raiders. While Kaepernick's controversial action has pushed dozens of players from across the league to join him sitting, kneeling or raising his fist during the national anthem as a way to protest police brutality and injustices racial, Thursday's incident would be the first time that an NFL leader joined the rally.
A photo taken and shared by NBC News reporter, Damian Trujillo, captured a 49ers kneeling cheerleader on one knee, hands and pompoms well placed on his hips, while the flag was posted on the field during the national anthem just before the kickoff given at Levi's Stadium. The rest of the San Francisco 49ers cheerleaders can be seen in training – with one hand on their hip and outstretched arm – around the kneeling cheerleader of the NFL. Bustle solicited feedback from the 49ers and the NFL.
Although the cheerleader in question has not yet come forward to discuss why she knelt, the gesture is a strong reminder of Kaepernick's protest.
In the pre-season 2016, Kaepernick demonstrated for the first time during the national anthem. According to SB Nation, Kaepernick's controversial protest was not noticed right away. He would have sat down even though he was in uniform – for at least two preparatory matches before his protest made the headlines. At the time, he had told NFL.com that he hoped to use his platform as a player to raise public awareness of issues such as police brutality and racial injustice.
"I'm not going to stand up to be proud of a flag for a country that is oppressing blacks and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL.com. "For me, it's bigger than football and it would be selfish to look on the other side.There are corpses in the street and people who get paid time off and on." come out with a murder. "
Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Sports / Getty Images
At that time, the NFL and the 49ers said that Kaepernick had the right not to represent the national anthem, reported NFL.com. But while dozens of other players have begun to sit down, kneel or raise their fists to join or support the demonstration of Kaepernick's national anthem, critics against the quarterback have increased. And by the end of the 2017 NFL draft, no team had signed Kaepernick, which meant he would no longer play in the NFL that year, if ever more.
Although Thursday's incident appears to be the first time that an NFL cheerleader has knelt down during the national anthem, this is not the first time that pom -pom girls have rushed into the manifestations of the national anthem. According to CNN, the entire Howard University encouragement team is kneeling for the national anthem when the university football team took part in the AT & T Nation football classic, now abandoned, at RFK Stadium in September 2016.
It is not clear if other cheerleaders will do the same.
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