Fansided

Santa Clara police may boycott 49ers games amid Colin Kaepernick controversy

By Jacob Yturri

Sep 1, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) gestures during a press conference following the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. San Francisco won 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) gestures during a press conference following the game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. San Francisco won 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit during the national anthem is starting to have sweeping consequences.

The Santa Clara police union is pushing back against the San Fransisco 49ers and its embattled quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The police union is threatening that some of its officers will not work security at 49ers games. This declaration is due to comments made by Kaepernick that has offended workers in the department.

Per NBC Bay Area, more than 70 police officers routinely volunteer to work as paid security during 49ers games. However, NBC Bay Area did mention that about half of the police officers that work games are considering not going. By doing so, the police would be making a protest of their own.

Furthermore, the Santa Clara police union expressed to NBC Bay Area that they were upset with how Kaepernick classified police work as “murder minorities.” They were also upset when Kaepernick wore socks that showed police officers as pigs.

Moving forward, Kaepernick appears to be backed by the San Fransisco 49ers. The team did originally comment that they supported Kaepernick’s right to use his freedom of speech. However, even if the team believes Kaepernick is right or wrong, he could become a nuisance. In other words, the 49ers will become unhappy when Kaepernick is more focused on the protest than on helping his team win a championship.

Several years ago, the NFL saw a similar predicament when Tim Tebow started profusely thanking God for his gridiron success. After a while, Tebow’s story grew larger than the team that he played for and his team didn’t like that. As a result, the Denver Broncos traded Tebow away to the New York Jets, which began the decline of ‘Tebow-mania.’

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It is important for Kaepernick to use his platform as an NFL player to bring about improvements for his community and country. The problem is that NFL teams prefer having players who are more focused on winning games. If Kaepernick isn’t careful he might just get released by the 49ers.