US Soccer Goalie Tim Howard: ‘100 Percent in Favor of What Colin Kaepernick Is Doing’

Tim Howard says he supports Colin Kaepernick not standing for the national anthem but he does not plan to imitate him.

“I stand with my hand on my heart and belt that national anthem out,” Howard tells the Washington Post. “Having said that, I am 100 percent in favor of what Colin Kaepernick is doing. We’re all individuals. We have a right to do what we feel.

“Me, it’s what I’ve always done so I will continue to do that. It doesn’t mean I don’t agree with what he’s doing. I certainly do.”

Howard continues to mind the net for the United States National Team, a job held since 2002. The squad plays Trinidad and Tobago Tuesday night at EverBank Field in Jacksonville. Howard plans to face the flag with palm facing heart.

But he nevertheless endorses Kaepernick’s protest and United States Women’s National Team member Megan Rapinoe’s imitation of that protest.

“It’s great,” he says of Rapinoe, who sat on Sunday during the anthem. “Colin Kaepernick has started this movement and people are following suit and supporting him.”