Police Union May Not Patrol 49ers Games Over Kaepernick

Let’s see how this works out for the Niners.

A Northern California police union told the San Francisco 49ers on Friday its officers might refuse to work the NFL team’s home games unless it takes action against quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has decided not to stand during the national anthem.

Kaepernick has taken a knee or sat through the national anthem during the team’s pre-season games, generating a wave of boos from the audience and criticism from fans.

In a letter sent to the 49ers Friday, the Santa Clara Police Officers’ Association told the team that unless they take action against Kaepernick, “it could result in police officers choosing not to work at your facilities,” NBC Bay Area reported.

The union stated it had a responsibility to protect its members, who work for the Santa Clara Police Department, from “harassing behavior.” The team plays at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

According to the report, the police department provides about 70 officers to the stadium during home games.

Kaepernick is a petulant child masquerading as a man of conviction. He should be grateful that he was rewarded with a massive, multi-million dollar contract before it became apparent that he didn’t have any staying power as a starter. He knows that there is a good chance he’ll be on the bench this season so he needs to get an excuse in place before that happens. In reality, he’s a sober, less talented Johnny Manziel.

It would be wonderful if the police union made good on this threat to force the 49ers to do something about Kaepernick. This is a tough stance to take, especially if the officers working security are getting overtime pay, as is often the case in these situations. Still, it’s important to start pushing back against the loudmouth attention seekers who would have people believe that every cop in America is out shooting innocent young black men. The perpetuation of this myth has made police work even more dangerous than it inherently is.

The NFL can intervene too. This is the same league that wouldn’t allow DeAngelo Williams to wear pink all season to honor his mother who had died from breast cancer. The league isn’t coy about enforcing conduct rules for players that some think are unfair, and it’s disingenuous for Goodell and Co. to do so now.