Two bars near Soldier Field supporting Kaepernick, boycotting NFL

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick warms up before an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks. | Tony Avelar/Associated Press

Two Chicago bars near Soldier Field have pledged to stand in solidarity with free-agent Colin Kaepernick and boycott the NFL.

Velvet Lounge, 67 E. Cermak Road, and Bureau Bar, 75 E. 16th St, announced Wednesday in two identical Instagram posts that they will not broadcast NFL games until Kaepernick’s situation is addressed.

“The [bars] will be supporting Colin Kaepernick’s cause and will not be showing any NFL games until something changes,” both bars wrote in the picture’s caption.

This come after multiple reports over the last month have alleged that teams are hesitant to sign Kaepernick after he drew criticism last season for kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice.

Attempts to reach Velvet Lounge and Bureau Bar were unsuccessful.

The two bars boycotts aren’t the only pro-Kaepernick protests happening in Chicago.

Two Chicagoans are planning a protest in support of Kaepernick before the Bears’ regular-season opener against the Falcons at Soldier Field on Sept.  10. Tim Clark and Amber Le’Shea created a Facebook event page to try to generate interest.

“Colin Kaepernick’s peaceful protest of police brutality and other racial injustices has led to him being blackballed by the NFL,” Clark and Le’Shea wrote in the event’s description on Facebook. “NFL owners have either decided to punish Kaepernick for taking this stand OR that it’s best for business to sweep these issues under the rug.

“By standing for Kaepernick, we are standing for players’ ability to raise awareness by taking small steps such as not standing for the national anthem without losing their jobs.”

There have also been a handful of other national protests, including one outside the NFL’s headquarters in New York.

Since Kaepernick is being silenced through unemployment, many current NFL players have decided to join in on the anthem protests during preseason games. Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and defensive end Khalil Mack, Seattle Seahawks Michael Bennett, center Justin Britt and cornerback Jeremy Lane and 11 Cleveland Brown players are just some of the nearly 30 protesters.

Follow me on Twitter: @madkenney

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