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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick says he is receiving death threats in response to his protests against police brutality during the U.S. national anthem during NFL matches.
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"If something like that were to happen, you've proved my point," Kaepernick told reporters Tuesday night about the death threats, saying he had received them through several avenues. "It'll be loud and clear why it happened."
Kaepernick, an African American, started his protest in the preseason by sitting down during the playing of the national anthem. He has since kneeled during the anthem in protest of racial inequalities and injustices taking place in the U.S., including police brutality and violence against Black people.
Kaepernick also addressed the recent shooting of Terence Crutcher by police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Friday. "They shot and killed a man and walked around like it wasn't a human being," Kaepernick said.
Videos released by the police department show that Crutcher was unarmed and was shot by a white female officer while his hands were up.
Kaepernick's comments came as North Carolina police used tear gas against hundreds of people protesting the shooting and killing of another Black man, Keith Lamont Scott. Police said he was armed when he was shot, but relatives said he was holding a book while waiting to pick up his son.
Kaepernick also told reporters that he will go through with his pledge to donate US$1 million to local communities, which will take the form of donations of US$100,000 a month for the next 10 months. He will also set up a website so the public can see how the money is spent.
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The death threats revelation comes a few days after a Reuters poll showed that 71 percent of U.S. citizens believe the 49ers quarterback's protest during the national anthem is unpatriotic, though a majority also noted it was his legal right.
Several players from the Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans protested during the anthem this past Sunday, while Megan Rapinoe has also knelt during the anthem at U.S. women's soccer games.
Other NFL players have chosen to raise fists, recalling a similar demonstration by athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the medal ceremony at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
The protesting players have been seen as allies of the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew in response to a string of high-profile police killings of unarmed people of color across the country. About two-thirds of NFL players are Black.
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