May 21 (UPI) — Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick joined Golden State Warriors players in celebrating their Western Conference finals sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Kaepernick sported a shirt featuring Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali and sat behind Warriors coach Steve Kerrduring Golden State’s Game 4 victory Monday at Moda Center in Portland, Ore.
He walked onto the court and posed for pictures with superstars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodalaand others. He also took a photo with Kerr.
Kerr and several Warriors players have a history of backing the former 49ers quarterback. In 2017, Kerr told a podcastthat Kaepernick was being blackballed by the NFL after he protested police brutality and racial inequality by kneeling during the national anthem before football games.
“Oh, [Kaepernick] is being blackballed,” Kerr said on Pod Save America. “That’s a no-brainer. All you have to do is read the transactions every day, when you see the quarterbacks who are being hired. He’s way better than any of them.”
“But the NFL has a different fan base than the NBA. The NBA is more urban, the NFL is more conservative, and I think a lot of NFL fans are truly angry at Kaepernick, and I think owners are worried what it’s going to do to business.”
Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016.
The Warriors await the winner of the Eastern Conference finals to see if they will be facing the Milwaukee Bucks or Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals. The Bucks own a 2-1 series lead entering Game 4 at 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Toronto.
The NBA Finals begin on Thursday, May 30.
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