Santa Clara Cops Threaten to Boycott Working 49ers Games Over Kaepernick's Protest

In one of the most thin-skinned reactions yet (though it's really hard to decide) to Colin Kaepernick's protest of racial injustice and police brutality, Santa Clara police are now threatening to boycott 49ers games, thereby compromising the safety of the possible 68,000 fans who attend games.

Kaepernick recently spoke out against police brutality after being called out for not standing during the national anthem and wearing some 'controversial' socks. Kaepernick by all means was joining the collective conscious of the non-violent, Black Lives Matter movement that has swept the country, protesting violence against and killing of minorities. Kaepernick, not inaccurately, said that officers "murder minorities."

Any combination of Kaepernick's actions rubbed Santa Clara police the wrong way, causing the Santa Clara police union to pen a letter, threatening to stop working 49ers games on the whole, according to NBC Bay Area. Around 70 police officers provide security for games on a volunteer basis, though they are paid as security personnel—NBC Bay Area estimates that around two thirds of that security comes from Santa Clara.

"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," Frank Saunders, president of the Santa Clara Police Officers Association, said.

The union's letter also said that the 49ers board of directors—who stood by Kaepernick's constitutional right to sit (or now kneel) during the national anthem—have "a duty to protect its members and work to make all of their workings [sic] environments free of harassing behavior."

So now it's the police who are concerned about stereotyping, and perceived hostility. That's quaint—they have the option to put on a uniform. And now they're boycotting their duty to serve and protect. Also note: there hasn't been a home game since Kaepernick's statements, and therefore no basis for police to feel "harassing behavior" or a "hostile work environment." Not to mention that these statements are coming from one player, in non-violent protest.

Just some quick facts about Santa Clara county (which contains Santa Clara, the city): police deal with the 9th lowest violent crime rate out of California's 58 counties—that's 2.5 violent crimes per 1,000 people. And it has a 47 percent white population versus only 2.6 percent black population. And while he was not racially a minority, a mentally-ill inmate Michael Tyree was killed at the hands of three Santa Clara police officers almost exactly a year ago in an incident that witnesses say was an excessive use of force. And then there's the civil rights lawsuit that was just filed in July against the Santa Clara Police for using excessive force and illegally entering a home. Nothing to see here.

The Santa Clara police union is demanding that the 49ers "deal with" Kaepernick as they would any other employee, otherwise, "it could result in police officers choosing not to work at your facilities," as the letter states. The 49ers next game comes on September 12.