Colin Kaepernick supporters protest outside NFL headquarters, calling for boycott

More than 1,000 demonstrators marched to the National Football League's headquarters in Manhattan on Wednesday, in support of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick was criticized by some people for his decision to not stand during the national anthem, in protest of police brutality against blacks. In March, he opted out of his contract with the team he led to a Super Bowl, and he remains unsigned; supporters say he is being punished for his activism. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has denied that the league is blackballing him.

The demonstrators want to see Kaepernick signed by the start of the regular season in September. Many wore jerseys with Kaepernick's name on the back, The Associated Press reports, and chanted, "Boycott! Boycott!" Several people spoke, including Rev. Jamal Bryant, who asked the crowd: "How in the world can we call ourselves the land of the free, the home of the brave, and you get vilified and criminalized just for speaking your mind? The NFL has proven with their treatment of Colin Kaepernick that they do not mind if black players get a concussion, they just got a problem if black players get a conscience."

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