US Navy investigates attack on man in Kaepernick jersey

The US Navy Special Warfare Command has condemned the videos that showed a "Colin Kaepernick stand-in'' being attacked during a demonstration at a fundraiser in 2019, saying it has opened an investigation into the incident.

The videos show a working dog demonstration at the fundraiser event for the Navy Seal Museum in Florida, in which Seals used trained dogs from a K-9 unit to simulate the subduing of a battlefield enemy. In this particular incident, the military stand-in was wearing padded protective gear and a Colin Kaepernick football jersey.

Blacklisted for political protest 

The videos, which resurfaced on Sunday, were captioned, "Colin Kaepernick stand-in Josh gets attacked by 5 Navy SEAL dogs for not standing during the National Anthem at a Navy SEAL Museum fundraiser."

The videos then show the US Seals releasing dogs that subsequently attack the man in the Kaepernick jersey. After the man is taken down by the dogs, the SEALs approach with guns drawn, ordering the man to get "on your belly," to which he replies: "Oh man, I'll stand," to laughs from the crowd. 

Kaepernick, formerly the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers professional football team, became a lightning rod for right-wing media as well as President Donald Trump and his supporters after he began kneeling during the national anthem before games in protest to racial injustice and raise awareness about police violence against minorities in August 2016.

Kaepernick played his last game on January 1, 2017, before being released by the 49ers.

In February 2019, he was awarded an undisclosed sum of money from the NFL after he sued the league for collusion, arguing he had been blacklisted for his political views. 

Reviled by the president and his supporters

Long reviled by many conservatives, public attitudes toward him have begun to shift in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.

As nationwide protests began to pick up steam, National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell apologized for the league's reluctance to listen to players' complaints about social injustice.

President Trump has weighed in often on the issue, leaning hard on the NFL to crack down on anthem protests, saying that if a player refuses to stand for the anthem owners should, "get that son of bitch off the field."

The Navy claims no active-duty sailors participated in the exhibition drill, suggesting that only museum employees and contractors were present. The Navy Seal Museum is located at Fort Pierce, Florida, where sailors are trained for underwater and combat demolition operations.

The museum's website says: "The main objective of the Museum remains the promotion of public education by providing the opportunity to explore the history of the Navy SEALs through interactive exhibits while honoring the fallen at the SEAL Memorial and caring for those warriors' families through the Trident House Charities Program."

Jon Shelton