Colin Kaepernick said he will donate the proceeds of his best-selling jersey “back into the communities” in an effort to achieve “justice and equality for all”.
Since the San Francisco 49ers quarterback began his national anthem protest, the Kaepernick No7 jersey has become the NFL’s top seller, ahead of jerseys featuring the names of Ezekiel Elliott, Odell Beckham and Carson Wentz. Before Kaepernick took his stand, his jersey was only the sixth most popular on his own team.
Kaepernick said on his Instagram page on Wednesday that the support showed “the people’s belief that we can achieve justice and equality for all”.
“I want to thank everyone who has shown me love and support – it truly means a lot!” the quarterback wrote. “I wasn’t expecting my jersey sales to jump to No1 because of this, but it shows the people’s belief that we can achieve justice and equality for all! The only way I can repay you for the support is to return the favor by donating all the proceeds I receive from my jersey sales back into the communities! I believe in the people, and we can be the change!”
Kaepernick, 28, has opted not to stand for the Star-Spangled Banner in pre-season. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he said two weeks ago.
In the 49ers game with the Chargers last week he chose to kneel rather than sit. He said he changed his approach after talking to former Green Beret and NFL long snapper Nate Boyer and “not take away from the military.” He said he will continue his protest through the 2016 season.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said on Wednesday that he disagrees with Colin Kaepernick’s choice to kneel during the national anthem because “we believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL”.
Goodell said: “Well, my personal thoughts are … I support our players when they want to see change in society, and we don’t live in a perfect society. We live in an imperfect society. On the other hand, we believe very strongly in patriotism in the NFL. I personally believe very strongly in that. I think it’s important to have respect for our country, for our flag, for the people who make our country better; for law enforcement, and for our military who are out fighting for our freedoms and our ideals.
“These are all important things for us, and that moment is a very important moment. So I don’t necessarily agree with what he is doing. We encourage our players to be respectful in that time and I like to think of it as a moment where we can unite as a country. And that’s what we need more, and that’s what I think football does – it unites our country. So I would like to see us focusing on our similarities and trying to bring people together.
“Players have a platform, and it’s his right to do that. We encourage them to be respectful and it’s important for them to do that.
“I think it’s important if they see things they want to change in society, and clearly we have things that can get better in society, and we should get better. But we have to choose respectful ways of doing that so that we can achieve the outcomes we ultimately want and do it with the values and ideals that make our country great.”
Kaepernick has pledged the first million dollars of his $11.9m salary this season to “different organizations to help these communities and help these people.”
The 49ers begin on Monday 12 September against the Rams in Santa Clara. Kaepernick will begin as backup after Chip Kelly said Blaine Gabbert will take the starting spot.
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