The U.S. Navy SEALs have launched an investigation into the viral video of a man dressed in a Colin Kaepernick jersey as he is attacked by K-9 dogs during a demonstration.
The incident took place last year during a fundraiser event at the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida. In the video, which has been viewed almost 6 million times on Twitter, a man dressed in a Kaepernick San Francisco 49ers jersey and protective gear is attacked by four dogs.
In a second video, he falls to the ground and makes a joke about standing. “Oh man, I will stand,” the man said as a reference to Kaepernick’s kneeling protest. The crowd of onlookers laughed.
The Navy has released a statement saying that they are investigating the incident, but no one involved was an active duty member of the service. “The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the U.S. Navy,” the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command said in a statement.
“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,” the statement concluded.
Kaepernick began to peacefully protest during the national anthem back in 2016. He would take a knee during the playing of the song to protest police brutality and racial injustices in America. He refused to stand for the national anthem until the words in the song were true.
Although his activism costed him his football career, he is still using his platform to fight for people of color through his Know Your Rights Camp charity. They recently donated over $1.75 million to Black and brown communities to help fight the spread of COVID-19 and help those who are currently behind bars.
Check out the videos of the K-9 demonstration below.