With the NFL season approaching and Colin Kaepernick still unsigned after his decision last year to kneel during the national anthem in protest of racial inequality, some fans have had enough.
On Wednesday evening, hundreds of Kaepernick supporters convened at NFL headquarters in Manhattan to protest the quarterback’s continued unemployment. Organizers estimated that the crowd reached quadruple digits, and reporters spotted celebrities Kurtis Blow and Susan Sarandon in attendance, along with Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad.
Steps at NFL headquarters packed. Crowd extends way past building. People stopping to watch on streets. Kurtis Blow and Susan Sarandon here.
— Jason Reid (@JReidESPN) August 23, 2017
Some organizers putting the crowd at more than 1,200. Definitely a strong turnout.
— Jason Reid (@JReidESPN) August 23, 2017
Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad was in attendance at the United We Stand rally pic.twitter.com/6bwmYbeJML
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) August 23, 2017
According to reports from those in attendance, the protest was passionate but peaceful. Protesters wore Kaepernick shirts passed out by the NAACP and raised their fists during a performance of “Life Every Voice and Sing.”
The @NAACP is passing out these shirts of Kaepernick at the #UnitedWeStand rally pic.twitter.com/FlYcfUR3tV
— Tyler R. Tynes (@TylerRickyTynes) August 23, 2017
Powerful singing of the Black National Anthem at #UnitedWeStand for Kaepernick pic.twitter.com/DL0OdhGtKu
— Tyler R. Tynes (@TylerRickyTynes) August 23, 2017
The whole thing looks like it was a pretty impressive spectacle.
And a video. pic.twitter.com/ZGX6ePL7Ns
— Aaron Leibowitz (@aaron_leib) August 23, 2017
.@EdgeofSports: "Black lives do not matter to NFL owners." #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/JyEBwWZC2o
— Nikhil Goyal (@nikhilgoya_l) August 23, 2017
Right now: Rally for @Kaepernick7 outside @NFL HQ in New York. pic.twitter.com/dVXbfn5WEk
— Aaron Leibowitz (@aaron_leib) August 23, 2017
At the #UnitedWeStand Kaepernick Rally in NYC pic.twitter.com/bIjpeUuhAe
— Tyler R. Tynes (@TylerRickyTynes) August 23, 2017
Earlier in the day Wednesday, Major League Baseball legend Hank Aaron said that Kaepernick was getting “a raw deal,” while the NAACP wrote a stern letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in support of Kaepernick.
The protest in New York on Wednesday sends a pretty important message to the NFL and its teams. For nearly a year, Kaepernick’s detractors have threatened to boycott the NFL over league-wide protests, while suggesting that player activism was killing league television ratings. The Kaepernick supporters at NFL headquarters made clear that the league will face backlash not only for employing the quarterback but also for not employing him.
