San Francisco 49ers quarterback failed to show up on Sunday morning at the Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, where he was to have spoken to congregants to explain his ongoing refusal to stand for the national anthem at football games.
The predominantly African-American church, with a deep history of civil rights activism, had invited Kaepernick to “give him all the support possible,” according to Rev. Amos Brown, who spoke to the San Francisco Chronicle on Saturday.
“I take him seriously,” Brown reportedly said. “This is not a situation where he all of a sudden woke up one day and decided to do this.” The public was invited to attend the 10 a.m. Sunday service, and members of the media were also in attendance, including CNN commentator Marc Lamont Hill. Members of Kaepernick’s old fraternity, Kappa Alphi Psi, showed up to support his protest and hear his address to the church. Even the mother of Mario Woods, a homeless man shot and killed by police last year after brandishing a knife, was present.
However, Kaepernick failed to turn up.
Local news station KRON-4 reported on Sunday: “Pastor Amos Brown said that the rigors of schedule kept him from coming. He also said that Kaepernick will be there at a later date.”
Former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown — who accused Kaepernick of “making it up as he goes along” in his Chronicle column this week — spoke to the congregation in Kaepernick’s stead.
Last Thursday, Kaepernick knelt during the Star-Spangled Banner before a preseason game against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium, continuing his protest in defiance of an evening devoted to members and veterans of the U.S. armed forces. Inexplicably, however, he stood and applauded during a second-hale rendition of God Bless America. Following the game, the 49ers announced that Blaine Gabbert, not Kaepernick, had won the starting job for the regular season.
No date has been announced for Kaepernick’s rescheduled speech.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, is available from Regnery through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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