Cops May Stop Providing Security at 49ers Games

If Colin Kaepernick is going to continue boycotting the national anthem in protest of police brutality, then the police might just boycott the San Francisco 49ers in protest of Colin Kaepernick. NBC Bay Area reports the Santa Clara police union has threatened to stop providing security for 49ers games unless the team forces its quarterback to get in line. About 70 Santa Clara police officers currently work as paid security at Levi Stadium. "The 49ers are allowing this to come out from an employee and it's making for a hostile work environment for us at the stadium," the police union's president says. Later, Santa Clara's chief of police urged the union to reconsider its boycott, asking members to "put the safety of our citizens first," USA Today reports.

Kaepernick made headlines when he refused to stand for the national anthem in protest against police brutality and injustice. The Santa Clara police union is specifically upset that he said officers "murder minorities" and wore socks showing pigs dressed as police, which the union calls "derogatory." Kaepernick has been joined in his protest of the national anthem by at least two other NFL players and has promised to donate $1 million to community organizations, Fox News reports. The 49ers organization repeated Friday its support for Kaepernick's right to protest as an "American principle." The 49ers' next home game is a nationally televised Monday night contest Sept. 12. It's estimated more than half the officers who typically provide security may not show up. (More Colin Kaepernick stories.)