Video Shows Navy SEAL Museum Setting Military Dogs on "Colin Kaepernick Stand-In"
By Mark PygasAug. 3 2020, Published 10:20 a.m. ET
The Navy SEAL Museum, located in Fort Pierce, Florida, is facing criticism after video emerged of a demonstration during which military dogs attacked a "stand-in" wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey.
The video, originally posted to Instagram in January 2019, went viral over the weekend after it was shared by Twitter users.
The original Instagram video has since been taken down, but the caption read: "Colin Kaepernick stand in Josh gets attacked by 5 Navy SEAL dogs for not standing during the National Anthem at a Navy SEAL Museum fundraiser."
Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce used “Colin Kaepernick stand-in" for K-9 demonstration at fundraiser last year #BecauseFlorida https://t.co/COHFCeJ3GN pic.twitter.com/EpcELHxrSe
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) August 2, 2020
In one video of the incident, the man wearing the jersey appears to say "Oh man, I will stand" after being knocked down by the dogs.
In another video, after “Navy SEALs and Navy SEAL dogs take down Colin Kaepernick for not standing during National Anthem,” he moans something like, "Oh man, I will stand” #BecauseFlorida https://t.co/uZ3ervZguB pic.twitter.com/6vi1uCGIt5
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) August 2, 2020
The Navy SEAL Museum is a non-profit "dedicated solely to preserving the history of the U.S. Navy SEALs and their predecessors." The board of directors includes retired SEALs.
Naval Special Warfare Command responded to the video on Sunday, writing in a statement: "The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the U.S. Navy. We are investigating the matter fully, and initial indications are that there were no active duty Navy personnel or equipment involved with this independent organization's event."
UPDATE: @us_navyseals statement says, "The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the U.S. Navy... There were no active duty Navy personnel or equipment involved with this independent organization's event." pic.twitter.com/iV9Tt0bNHV
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) August 2, 2020
Kaepernick sparked a national movement in 2016 when he began kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
The quarterback faced backlash, including from President Donald Trump, and remains unsigned. Earlier this year, following the death of George Floyd, the NFL reversed its opposition to players taking a knee during the anthem.
In a statement earlier this year, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday announced a task force that would look at ways to "identify and eliminate individual and systemic racism within our force.” The plan included allowing Black sailors to speak candidly about their experiences.
“As a Navy, we cannot tolerate discrimination or racism of any kind,” Gilday said.
The @USNavy is standing up a task force designed to identify and remove racial barriers and improve inclusion within our Navy. Check out this video of Sailors sharing their stories: https://t.co/iDUKQWb1Z0
— USNavyCNO (@USNavyCNO) June 26, 2020
If you are looking for ways to donate your time or money to Black Lives Matter and other antiracist organizations, we have created a list of resources to get you started.
