In the piece, GQ states that Kaepernick voiced his intentions to reclaim the narrative of his protest, which the piece argues has shifted from his original intent to protest police brutality especially against the black community to a political issue that drew the ire of President Trump, inspired the #TakeAKnee protests, and led some to boycott the NFL. On November 13th, 2017, GQ Magazine named Colin Kaepernick its "Citizen of the Year" and featured him on the cover of the magazine (shown below). Later that day, Kaepernick's lawyer, Mark Geragos, released a statement in which he stated that NFL owners imitated Kapernick's protest several weeks prior but refused to sign him because of his protest, and that the grievance was filed to prevent owners from colluding against any player for exercising his right to protest. Kaepernick will have to prove collusion with evidence, which could prove difficult. The NFLPA or the affected Player shall have the right to appeal the Commissioner’s disapproval of such player contract to the System Arbitrator, pursuant to Article 15 and Article 14. (b) Any approval or disapproval of a player’s contract by the Commissioner, or any communication thereof, timely notice of which is provided to the NFLPA, cannot be the basis of any claim of collusion. Kaepernick refused to stand again on September 1st, 2016, in a game against the San Diego Chargers, and he was joined by teammate Eric Reid. 22 military vets a day commit suicide, but this country will let the vets go and fight the war for them but when they come back they won’t do anything to try to help him. I’ve been very blessed to be in this position and make the kind of money I do. “It’s something to make sure that I wasn’t just talking about something, but being involved and actively trying to make a change in these communities. I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way. I realize that men and women of the military put themselves in harm’s way for my freedoms of speech and my freedom in this country and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee.
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The media painted this as I’m anti-American, anti men and women of the military, and that’s not the case at all.
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Kaepernick himself stated that his actions were not anti-American or anti-military. Critics including Rush Limbaugh and NFL owners inferred that Kaepernick's protest was anti-American and anti-military, while others, including members of the military who sparked a #VeteransforKaepernick Twitter trend, defended Kaepernick's right to protest. Reactions to Kaepernick's actions ranged from angry or supportive.
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Kaepernick's actions sparked a national debate on whether a player needs to stand for the national anthem.