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Colin Kaepernick lauds Chip Kelly for taking a ‘strong stand’

Colin Kaepernick was supposed to fracture the San Francisco 49ers locker room. His protest was supposed to ruin the 49ers this year. That was the narrative surrounding his decision to silently protest police violence and brutality against minorities in America by refusing to stand for the national anthem.

Rather than break up the locker room, it could be successfully argued that Kaepernick has brought the 49ers closer together. But it’s likely this would have been impossible without the staunch support of head coach Chip Kelly, who has repeatedly stood up for his backup quarterback.

Most recently, Kelly shot down a local reporter, Lowell Cohn, who tried to paint a picture of discontent that simply does not exist.

Speaking about the support he has received from Kelly, Kaepernick expressed deep gratitude and respect for his head coach.

“I think he’s a strong man,” Kaepernick said of Kelly, via Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News. “I don’t know if he realizes how much that means to me and if he realizes how much that means to these people, to these communities.

“The fact that he was willing to take a strong stand and say these things aren’t right, and that’s huge coming from a head coach.”

The bond that has begun to grow between coach and quarterback off the field could soon make its way to the field of play.

Blaine Gabbert has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL through three games. He was so bad in Seattle on Sunday that Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett lobbied for Kaepernick to play for San Francisco going forward (more on that here).

Regardless of what does happen for Kaepernick, Kelly and the 49ers this year as it pertains to wins and losses, it’s clear the franchise has a winning message of unity right now on a topic that matters more than football.

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