Some Buffalo Bills fans aren’t happy with Colin Kaepernick, that much is clear.
As ThinkProgress reported on Sunday, Kaepernick’s first NFL start since he began taking a knee during the national anthem — a civil rights protest over police brutality and racial injustice — was met with controversy, as some fans sold T-shirts that attacked the San Francisco 49ers quarterback.
One of the shirts included an image of a gun scope aimed at the quarterback, while others contained vulgar language. (The images of the shirts, shown at ThinkProgress, may be unsettling to some.)
These shirts came in spite of Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy asking Bills fans to remain respectful toward their opponent, telling them to be professional on Sunday.
Some followed that advice, according to ThinkProgress. For example, a group of fans who couldn’t get tickets to the game knelt outside the stadium in support of the quarterback when the national anthem played.
“We’re still Bills fans,” Caitlin Blue, one of the organizers, told USA Today. “We just recognize the NFL uses black and brown bodies for entertainment, as long as they don’t have opinions.”
Blue also told USA Today that she understands the 49ers quarterback’s reason for kneeling, which is why she doesn’t have a problem with it.
“This country was founded on protest and dissent,” she said. “There are always going to be people who don’t understand what makes America, America. Kaepernick is doing something that is very American.”
During the game, fans chanted “USA! USA! USA!” when the quarterback knelt for the national anthem and whenever he dropped back to pass the ball in the 45-16 49ers loss.
Kaepernick said he wasn’t fazed by what happened before and during the game, though, according to USA Today. Nor did he notice that one fan had thrown a bottle at him.
“If they did, they don’t have very good aim,” Kaepernick said to laughter. “I had some Bills fans come up before the game to say they support me so I think it all depends on who the person is. But at the end of the day, I’m going to continue to fight for what I’m fighting for.”
Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem has reached a fever pitch over the last few months. Americans are divided on the subject. A poll from CBS last month found that 72 percent of the country feels it's unpatriotic to kneel during the national anthem.
The poll, which surveyed 481 white people and 612 minorities, found that 61 percent overall don’t “support the stance Colin Kaepernick is taking and his decision not to stand during the national anthem.”
Meanwhile, 64 percent told the CBS pollsters that they believed the quarterback has a right to protest in this way.
A number of high school athletes have followed in Kaepernick's footsteps and kneeled before their individual games. As I wrote last month, this has led to students getting suspended from their teams and disciplined by their schools.
Bills fan Tony Hough told USA Today that no matter how you feel about the protest, you should at least respect it.
“We live in a beautiful country,” he said. “He’s making a silent protest about what he thinks is right. You have to respect that.”
Herb Scribner is a writer for Deseret Digital Media.