Frank Serpico, black NYPD cops raise their fists, take a knee for team-less Colin Kaepernick at Brooklyn rally
By Dale W. Eisinger and Larry McShane
New York Daily News
August 19, 2017
Because Colin Kaepernick took a knee, these cops have his back.
Law enforcers past and present turned out Saturday in a show of support for the controversial NFL quarterback — whose public stance against racism and police violence preceded his current unemployment.
“What Colin Kaepernick did is try to bring awareness that this nation unfortunately has ignored for far too long,” said NYPD Sgt. Edwin Raymond, who helped organize the Brooklyn event.
“And that's the issue of racism in America and policing in America. We decided to gather here today because of the way he's being railroaded for speaking the obvious truth.”
Kaepernick, 29, finds himself without an NFL job so far this year after he began kneeling during the national anthem before games last season.
Supporters insist the quarterback was blackballed over his politics.
Dozens of NYPD officers joined Raymond in wearing black shirts with the logo “#ImWithKap.” City Council member Jumaane Williams opted for a red Kaepernick jersey.
Near the end of the rally, all involved raised their fists and took a synchronized knee in support of the one-time San Francisco starter.
Veteran quarterback Kaepernick remains unsigned after opting out of his contract with the 49ers, even after announcing he would stand for the anthem this year.
Current NFL players both black and white showed their backing of the polarizing player during exhibition games this year.
Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, an African-American, raised his fist during “The Star-Spangled Banner” last week as white teammate Chris Long stood with an arm wrapped around him.
The assembled police officers were joined by other Kaepernick backers just three weeks before the kickoff of the new NFL season.
“The fact that this man is no longer in the NFL has nothing to do with stats on the football field, but for taking a knee and pointing out some of the flaws that have been tormenting people of color in this country for decades,” said Darius Gordon of the Justice League NYC.
Speaker Stanley Fritz of Citizen Action of New York echoed the suggestion that Kaepernick was barred over his politics.
“Colin took a knee because so many black and brown bodies have seen violence put against them with no repercussions,” said Fritz.
“And because of that, despite of his obvious ability to play on the field, he's being blocked from joining a team.”
Legendary NYPD whistleblower Frank Serpico returned to his native borough to add his voice in backing Kaepernick.
“I am here to support anyone who has the courage to stand up against injustice and oppression anywhere in this country and the world,” said the 81-year-old former detective.
EDITOR’S NOTE: There were an estimated 75 cops at the fist-clenching rally. I studied pictures of the event carefully and the only white face was that of Serpico.
Make no mistake about it, this was more of a black thing than a show of force for that asshole Kaepernick. I suspect the majority of black NYPD cops do not support the asshole. The cops at the rally were just a bunch of dipshits. Kaepernick and the other players that are disrespecting the flag and National Anthem are a disgrace to America, although NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t think so, and these black NYPD are a disgrace to law enforcement.
The following letter from retired Marine Corps Col. Jeffery Powers says it best. I believe the letter is authentic, but even if it isn’t, it still says it best.
Commissioner Roger Goodell
I’ve been a season pass holder at Yankee Stadium, Yale Bowl and the Giants Stadium.
I missed the ’90-’91 season because I was with a battalion of Marines in Desert Storm. 14 of my wonderful Marines returned home with the American Flag draped across their lifeless bodies. My last conversation with one of them, Sgt. Garrett Mongrella, was about how our Giants were going to the Super Bowl. He never got to see it.
Many friends, Marines, and Special Forces Soldiers who worked with or for me through the years returned home with the American Flag draped over their coffins.
Now I watch multi-millionaire athletes who never did anything in their lives but play a game, disrespect what brave Americans fought and died for. They are essentially spitting in the faces and on the graves of real men, men who have actually done something for this country beside playing with a ball and believing they’re something special! They’re not! My Marines and Soldiers were!
You are complicit in this! You’ll fine players for large and small infractions but you lack the moral courage and respect for our nation and the fallen to put an immediate stop to this. Yes, I know, it’s their 1st Amendment right to behave in such a despicable manner.
What would happen if they came out and disrespected you or the refs publicly?
I observed a player getting a personal foul for twerking in the end zone after scoring. I guess that’s much worse than disrespecting the flag and our National Anthem. Hmmmmm, isn’t it his 1st Amendment right to express himself like an idiot in the end zone?
Why is taunting not allowed yet taunting America is OK? You fine players for wearing 9-11 commemorative shoes yet you allow scum on the sidelines to sit, kneel or pump their pathetic fist in the air. They are so deprived with their multi-million dollar contracts for playing a freaking game!
You condone it all by your refusal to act. You’re just as bad and disgusting as they are. I hope Americans boycott any sponsor who supports that rabble you call the NFL. I hope they turn off the TV when any team that allowed this disrespect to occur, without consequence, on the sidelines. I applaud those who have not.
Legends and heroes do NOT wear shoulder pads. They wear body armor and carry rifles.
They make minimum wage and spend months and years away from their families. They don’t do it for an hour on Sunday. They do it 24/7 often with lead, not footballs, coming in their direction. They watch their brothers carted off in pieces not on a gurney to get their knee iced. They don’t even have ice! Many don’t have legs or arms.
Some wear blue and risk their lives daily on the streets of America . They wear fire helmets and go upstairs into the fire rather than down to safety. On 9-11, hundreds vanished. They are the heroes.
I hope that your high paid protesting pretty boys and you look in that mirror when you shave tomorrow and see what you really are, legends in your own minds. You need to hit the road and take those worms with you!
Time to change the channel.
Col. Jeffery Powers
U.S. Marine Corps, Retired
(As of last week, at least 18 NFL player had protested the anthem by either kneeling during the anthem or raising their fists, according to USA Today Sports.)
UPDATE 8-21-2017 - From Truth or Fiction:
Colonel Jeffrey A. Powers’ wrote an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell about the NFL’s handling of player protests during the national anthem.
The letter first appeared on discussion forums and veteran email groups. Then, Colonel Jeffrey Powers’ letter to the NFL commissioner started to go viral in September 2016 after Allen B. West, a former congressman and current outspoken conservative, posted it on his website.
……… we’re confirming the authorship of Colonel Jeffrey A. Powers’ letter to the NFL commissioner
No comments:
Post a Comment