Plenty of people have criticized 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for his failure to stand for the national anthem last week, saying he disrespected the flag so many brave men and women have fought for.
So this week, he met with one of them.
According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Kaepernick reached out to Nate Boyer this week, asking to talk to the former Seahawks training camp long snapper and Green Beret.
The two talked for 90 minutes about possible compromises to Kaepernick’s stance, after he said he wouldn’t “stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
“Being able to move forward and understanding what his message is but also understanding what that flag means is important,” Boyer said. “We talked about change a lot and how to get positive change to happen. We talked about issues that are taking place in this country and how to prompt change but I also reminded him the great freedoms and luxuries we have in America.”
Boyer didn’t make the Seahawks after last year’s cuts were made, but he’s been part of far more important teams, fighting with the Green Berets in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And while many were piling on Kaepernick this week, Boyer wrote an open letter to Kaepernick on ArmyTimes.com which struck a far more conciliatory tone, saying his mother told him “the last thing our country needed right now was more hate.”
“I’m not judging you for standing up for what you believe in,” Boyer wrote. “It’s your inalienable right. What you are doing takes a lot of courage, and I’d be lying if I said I knew what it was like to walk around in your shoes. I’ve never had to deal with prejudice because of the color of my skin, and for me to say I can relate to what you’ve gone through is as ignorant as someone who’s never been in a combat zone telling me they understand what it’s like to go to war.”
He also pointed out that there were “already plenty people fighting fire with fire, and it’s just not helping anyone or anything.”
Boyer then offered to stand next to Kaepernick during a national anthem, if he ever chose to stand for it again.
Whether he does so tonight in San Diego remains to be seen, but he’s already taken an important step.