FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—The U.S. Navy is investigating an incident in which dogs attacked a “Colin Kaepernick stand-in” during a K-9 demonstration during a 2019 fundraiser at the Navy SEAL Museum in Florida.
Kaepernick is a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who began kneeling during the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner” before games to protest perceived social injustice and police brutality. He played his final NFL game in January 2017. He offered support to those protesting the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in May, and the NFL’s commissioner has apologized for not listening earlier to players’ concerns about social injustice.
The videos show four dogs attacking a man, who is wearing a red Kaepernick football jersey over heavily padded gear as people stand nearby watching. In a second video, the man is laying on the ground when he’s approached by men wearing fatigues and holding rifles, saying, “On your belly.“ The man replies, “Oh, man, I will stand,” as he rolls over, followed by laughing from the crowd.
The videos were apparently posted on Instagram last year and resurfaced over the weekend.
“The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the U.S. Navy,” the statement said.
The Navy said the “initial indications” are that no active duty personnel or equipment were used in the demonstration at the “independent organization’s event.”
The museum’s stated main objective is the promotion of public education, with events for both children and adults. Children between the ages of 10 and 15 were recently given firsthand demonstrations on the care and training of working dogs as part of the museums “Frogman Foundry” program. The museum is not officially connected to the Navy. It was designated as a National Museum by an act of Congress and signed into law in 2008.
