Eric Reid will continue kneeling with Colin Kaepernick for anthem

San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid became perhaps the first of many to join Colin Kaepernick in protesting police brutality when he knelt with the quarterback during the singing of the national anthem on Thursday.

It was not a one-time show of support, either.

Speaking on the Dan Patrick Show Friday, Reid said he will continue to kneel with Kaepernick.

“I will,” Reid said. “These issues are much bigger than the game of football. . . . We love this country so much that we want it to be better.”

The Pro Bowl safety also said he and Kaepernick have plenty of support from teammates and that the entire ordeal has acted as somewhat of a galvanizing force for the locker room.

“I’ve gotten a lot of support from a lot of other players,” Reid said. “I don’t want anybody to do anything they’re uncomfortable with. Simply telling me that they support it is enough for me. I wouldn’t pressure anybody to do anything that they don’t feel comfortable doing . . . If anybody does it, then that support is welcome.”

Reid went on to explain his stance and embellished the reason for kneeling, which Kaepernick brought up wit him, rather than sitting during the anthem.

“We wouldn’t be isolating ourselves from our teammates, we wouldn’t be sitting down during the national anthem,” Reid said. “We were attempting to be more respectful to the people who felt disrespected by him sitting.”

Kaepernick spent time last Sunday in a players’ only meeting to express his deep thoughts and feelings on the matter. It was a meeting in which at least one player who was offended at first by his original protest came away supporting his decision.

Afterwards, Kaepernick spoke for nearly 20 minutes with local media, explaining his stance and answering questions (watch here).

Kaepernick and Reid were joined by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane on Thursday. He sat on the bench while the rest of his teammates stood at attention for the national anthem.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll lauded his player afterwards.

“This is a very interesting issue that we’re dealing with right now,” Carroll told reporters on Thursday night (via Seahawks.com). “Our team has been working at it and we’ve been in the process of communicating about a lot of stuff right now. That was an individual thing, but I’m really proud of the progress we’re making in the conversation and I look forward to continuing it with our guys.

It seems like Kaepernick’s stand is starting to pick up steam, and we won’t be surprised if more players join with him, Reid and Lane in Week 1 when the regular season kicks off.