To: National Football League
Join Vets in supporting Kaepernick
Tell NFL players who are taking a knee or linking arms that we're with them!
Why is this important?
It's electric. All over the country, NFL players are taking a knee and linking arms. They're kneeling in opposition to police brutality. They're linking arms because Black Lives Matter. They're joining together in defiance of Donald Trump, who attacks People of Color but says white supremacists are “very fine people.”
Trump has tried to turn the players and teams against each other, but his divisive, racist rhetoric isn't working. It's only strengthening their bonds, and unifying people against the politics of hate. Professional athletes courageously confronted Trump's bullying and bigotry yesterday, despite the fact that he has called on their employers to fire them, and even suggested a boycott of their league.
Now, as a veteran, I'm joining them, along with thousands of veterans and military families.
The NFL needs to know that Americans--all of us--support patriots like Colin Kaepernick, and all the other athletes who are peacefully protesting for racial justice.
This isn’t about the flag, which I have personally taken an oath to defend. It’s about our basic values, like believing in the right to speak out, demand equality, and fight for justice. We need to live our values today--like these NFL teams are--by taking a knee and linking arms.
When I was 19, I stood up and raised my right hand to enlist in the US Army, because I believe in our basic values of equality, justice, and free speech. The right to kneel and express oneself is exactly what I swore an oath to protect. And all of us at Common Defense--the organization of veterans and military families I co-founded--will continue our fight to uphold that. Will you join me and send a message to the NFL that we're with them?
Trump has tried to turn the players and teams against each other, but his divisive, racist rhetoric isn't working. It's only strengthening their bonds, and unifying people against the politics of hate. Professional athletes courageously confronted Trump's bullying and bigotry yesterday, despite the fact that he has called on their employers to fire them, and even suggested a boycott of their league.
Now, as a veteran, I'm joining them, along with thousands of veterans and military families.
The NFL needs to know that Americans--all of us--support patriots like Colin Kaepernick, and all the other athletes who are peacefully protesting for racial justice.
This isn’t about the flag, which I have personally taken an oath to defend. It’s about our basic values, like believing in the right to speak out, demand equality, and fight for justice. We need to live our values today--like these NFL teams are--by taking a knee and linking arms.
When I was 19, I stood up and raised my right hand to enlist in the US Army, because I believe in our basic values of equality, justice, and free speech. The right to kneel and express oneself is exactly what I swore an oath to protect. And all of us at Common Defense--the organization of veterans and military families I co-founded--will continue our fight to uphold that. Will you join me and send a message to the NFL that we're with them?