When it comes to what’s become the most anticipated preseason national anthem in NFL history Thursday night when the 49ers play in San Diego, California Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter said what’s fairly obvious, that 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick should expect to hear some boos and other pleasantries before and after the anthem is played.
What was more interesting is that Hunter said on an ESPN podcast that Kaepernick wouldn’t be welcomed in San Diego, a city with deep-rooted military ties, if he refused to stand for the anthem while playing for the Chargers.
“I don’t think you would have a person like him on a team in a city like San Diego,” Hunter said. “A city like San Diego is too patriotic and we have too much military [here]. You have so many people that have fought and been overseas or had family members who have fought and been overseas...or they’re in San Diego because their grandfather ended up there after World War II.
“I don’t think we’d have a player like him. I think he would be booed out or the owners would be forced to not accept someone like him.”
Hunter, a former Marine and San Diego native, was a guest on ESPN’s “Capital Games” podcast. He was asked how he would react if a Chargers player used a method of protest similar to the one Kaepernick is using.
“I probably wouldn’t even go to the game,” Hunter said. “It’s that simple. I would not go into the game if he was a Charger. I’d be that unhappy with him being on the team and I don’t think you would have a guy like Kaepernick on a team like the Chargers. He probably fits in very well in a city like San Francisco and that might be one of the reasons that he’s able to do this and feel so confident about it.”
Earlier Thursday, Kaepernick released a statement regarding socks he was photographed wearing in practice that depicted police officers as pigs. Kaepernick has maintained that he’s protesting inequality and police brutality and not the military.
Kaepernick is slated to start at quarterback for the 49ers in Thursday night’s game.
Hunter, who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2008, said he doesn’t believe a military boycott of the 49ers would be an effective counter to Kaepernick’s protest.
“I think you combat what Kaepernick is doing with a show of force on the other side and that’s by saying, ‘Hey, we respect the flag because it stands for something that’s constant, and that’s [honoring] the sacrifices and what the American military has done for this country,’” he said.
