The parents of embattled San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick have broken their silence on their sons decision to kneel for the playing of the national anthem this season. Carolina Hurricanes Store .Colin is carrying a heavy load and following a difficult path that he truly believes in. He is putting his entire future and possibly his life on the line for those beliefs, Teresa and Rick Kaepernick wrote in a statement addressed to The Undefeated on Friday. As his parents, it pains us to read articles and tweets saying that his family does not support him; this could not be further from the truth. We want people to know that we are very proud of our son and admire his strength and courage in kneeling for the rights of others.Reached by phone Friday evening, Teresa Kaepernick said the couple initially wanted to avoid the limelight associated with making a public statement about their son but were shocked by the overwhelmingly false narrative that she and her husband dont support their son.The Kaepernicks support of Colin initially came into question after USA Today reported in early September that the family flew an American flag in front of their Modesto, California, home, an apparent statement of their displeasure with Colin. At the time, Teresa said, Its not in our best interest or Colins best interest to make a comment. Colin later told reporters that his parents agree with what Im standing for.More than three months later, his parents are finally ready to speak.Colin has chosen to kneel for the national anthem as a protest to the continuing racial inequality in this country, the statement read. He has explained his reasons for this in multiple interviews, yet it seems some people still do not understand his point. For whatever reason, there are some who want to view this as an anti-military protest or an un-American stance. These views could not be further from the truth, but we know that people will believe what they wish to believe. The recent remarks (attacks) by Admiral Harris supported by the Pentagon are over the top, and we feel the desire to make a public statement in support of our son.On Wednesday, Adm. Harry B. Harris, who heads the U.S. Pacific Command, made indirect comments against Kaepernick while addressing a crowd to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. You can bet that the men and women we honor today -- and those who died that fateful morning 75 years ago -- never took a knee and never failed to stand whenever they heard our national anthem being played, he said.Our military takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and many have fought and died to defend our constitutional rights. Indeed after such sacrifice it is a reasonable expectation that all of our citizens enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the Kaepernicks statement read.Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, who are white, adopted Colin when he was only 5 weeks old. The couple had lost two sons at birth to congenital heart failure and were not eligible to adopt a white baby from a private adoption agency. Then came along a tiny biracial baby boy who had recently been given away by his 19-year-old white mother. Teresa called Colin her perfect child.Four years later, the family (Rick and Teresa also have two other children) moved from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to Turlock, California, with the daunting task of raising a biracial boy in an all-white household in America.From the beginning, the Kaepernicks reaffirmed to their youngest son that his different skin color was perfectly OK, and they never tried to make him white. They even drove him an hour out of town to get him cornrows when he was a teenager.I never felt that I was supposed to be white. Or black, either. My parents just wanted to let me be who I needed to be, Colin told Mr.Porter.com in Septermber 2015.Teresa and Rick have had to stand up for their son for decades now, from strangers not realizing he was their child in his younger years, to a Sporting News columnist writing a racially charged story on Colins abundance of tattoos within weeks of his first professional start during the 2012 season.It annoyed me, Teresa told USA Today after the column was posted. You are categorizing this kid on something like tattoos? Really? ... Thats how youre going to define this kid? Its pretty irritating, but it is what it is.Added Rick: Instead of saying that Colin does all these great things and donates his time to children, this guy is going to make him out like a gangster.The 29-year-old quarterback has been under fire since late August, when football media noticed he wasnt standing for the national anthem during the 49ers third preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. He initially told reporters he would not stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color, and that There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.Over the past months, Colin has expanded on his mission, stating that he will donate $1 million of his salary this season to organizations whose mission is to help communities of color. He has donated at least $200,000 so far.While he has been criticized by members of the military like Harris, fellow NFL players and president-elect Donald Trump, Kaepernick also has received praise from high school and college athletes, a handful of WNBA teams, President Barack Obama, and a hashtag-full of other vets.Colins birth mother, Heidi Russo, scolded the quarterback on Twitter during the early days of his protest, tweeting, Theres ways to make change w/o disrespecting and bringing shame to the very country and family who afforded you so many blessings. In a subsequent tweet, she added, The path less traveled doesnt need to be one of destruction. #beenthere #besmarter #berespectful.Despite the negative press over the past four months, the Kaepernick family firmly stands behind Colin. They acknowledge that the current political and racial climate in America is not helping their sons cause but are hopeful the protest will evoke some form of change.When Colin first took a knee, his family was as surprised as anyone. We did not understand why he was doing this and were overwhelmed with the public reaction and hate. Colin not only received terrible racist tweets, but also received letters directly to our home similar to that recently received by [Denver Broncos linebacker] Brandon Marshall, the familys statement read. We were truly shocked at the amount of racist hatred out there! Until this had occurred, we had naively believed that the racial atmosphere in this country was far better than it actually is. Prayer and talks with our son gave us a much better understanding of the reason for his protest and how we should view it.I just want to be on the record that we absolutely do support him, Teresa told The Undefeated by phone. Custom Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Hurricanes Jerseys 2021 . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ ;. "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Zimbabwe 164 and 121 for 5 (Ervine 49*, Raza 37) trail New Zealand 576 for 6 dec (Taylor 173*, Watling 107, Latham 105) by 291 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRoss Taylor and BJ Watling took 299 and 172 deliveries respectively to rack up 173* and 107 - their second hundreds against Zimbabwe - and build an advantage New Zealand may have considered unassailable. Tim Southee and Trent Boult took four Zimbabwean wickets for 10 runs in the space of 18 balls, and likely ensure the 412-run lead is more than enough.Zimbabwes top order were blown away by swing and teetered on 17 for 4. Given their first-innings collapse, a three-day finish seemed imminent. But Craig Ervine equalled his highest Test score - 49 - and formed partnerships with Sikandar Raza and Graeme Cremer to allow the hosts to live to fight another day.Taking the match into the fourth day was Zimbabwes second small success after they removed nightwatchman Ish Sodhi in the second over of the day. They did not see the back of another New Zealand batsman until 15 minutes after tea, when Watling dragged Raza to deep square leg. By then, the New Zealand wicketkeeper had a century, Taylor had 173* and their partnership - a chanceless stand headlined by crisp cuts, powerful pulls and careful strike rotation - had reached 253.On its own, it was worth 89 runs more than Zimbabwes first-innings total. Combined with the 79-run opening stand, the 156 runs Tom Latham and Kane Williamson added for the second wicket, and other small contributions, it put the match beyond Zimbabwe, who were kept under the Bulawayo sun for 166.5 overs.Their second new ball was under six overs old when the day began and Donald Tiripano and Michael Chinouya started promisingly with it. Both showed marked improvement from their second-day performances and made the batsmen play at more deliveries by tightening their lines. Chinouya reaped some reward when Sodhi played an uncertain drive and edged to substitute wicketkeeper Brian Chari.Sensing an opportunity to get into New Zealands lower order, the pair tried the short ball but without the pace or the discipline to back it up, it was wasted. Too often, they offered their deliveries with width, allowing the batsmen to cut. Other balls were misdirected and invited the pull, a shot both Taylor and Watling played comfortably. Their ease against the short ball only highlighted Zimbabwes deficiencies when faced with the same.With the seamers struggling, Graeme Cremer brought himself on. He did not manage as much of the turn and bounce he got on the second day, but Taylor and Watling were still cautious against him.It was only towards the end of the first session, when heavy legs caused Zimbabwes fielders to make several fumbles, that the pair upped the scoring rate. Carolina Hurricanes Gear. . Taylor took on the more aggressive role and showed his authority against Cremer while Watling hung back and rotated strike. By lunch, the lead was over 250 and the pair well settled.They returned after the break to deal for another careful five overs before opening up. The next 15 overs brought 61 runs at over four runs per over. In that time, Taylor brought up his century with a signature square cut. His second fifty only took him 83 balls, compared to his first for which he faced 108.Watling went into the tea break on 95 and brought up his century four overs later with a top-edge off a pull - the shot he had played so comfortably through his innings. The pair were given some freedom to bat on but managed only one more shot in anger before Watling holed out and Williamson called his men in, leaving Zimbabwe with a tough task to make New Zealand bat again.They decided to take on the challenge head on and played their strongest hand by promoting their most experienced batsman Hamilton Masakadza to open. Brian Chari, who does not keep regularly and spent five sessions behind the stumps doing the job, was given some time to recover but he did not have too long.Masakadza drove the first ball he faced for four but then edged the third, which moved away from him, to first slip to end a disappointing Test for him. Chari was in at No.3 and handled the first five balls he faced before a Boult inswinger snuck through the bat-pad gap and took out his off stump.Chamu Chibhabha also failed to handle Boults movement and poked at one that moved away to give Taylor a second catch, low and to his left. With his next ball, Boult angled it in to Prince Masvaure, who was hit on the pad in front of middle stump.Sikandar Raza sliced the hat-trick ball through the covers for four and settled Zimbabwes nerves somewhat. Raza and Ervine took a totally different approach to what may be expected from a side on the back foot, and played an aggressive range of strokes. They scored at 7.8 runs to the over and swiped their bats at anything, be it full or short. Raza fell on his sword when he top-edged a short ball and walked off before the catch was taken.With news that Regis Chakbva and Sean Williams, neither of whom fielded at all because of illness, will be available to bat on the fourth day, Ervine will be hopeful of reaching a milestone and more, even if in vain.
