A 2019 video resurfaced on Sunday showing the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum outside Fort Pierce, Fla. using a Colin Kaepernick jersey as a prop during a K-9 attack demonstration.
In one video, four attack dogs go after a man dressed in a protective suit, along with the jersey of Kaepernick, a controversial former San Francisco 49ers NFL quarterback who popularized a kneeling protest of the national anthem before NFL football games.
“Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce used ‘Colin Kaepernick stand-in’ for K-9 demonstration at fundraiser last year,” said one Twitter user who uncovered the controversial footage.
Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce used “Colin Kaepernick stand-in” for K-9 demonstration at fundraiser last year #BecauseFlorida https://t.co/COHFCeJ3GN pic.twitter.com/EpcELHxrSe
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) August 2, 2020
The video has garnered more than 4 million views since it was tweeted out Sunday.
“In another video, after ‘Navy SEALs and Navy SEAL dogs take down Colin Kaepernick for not standing during National Anthem,’ he moans something like, ‘Oh man, I will stand,’” a second video shows.
In another video, after “Navy SEALs and Navy SEAL dogs take down Colin Kaepernick for not standing during National Anthem,” he moans something like, “Oh man, I will stand” #BecauseFlorida https://t.co/uZ3ervZguB pic.twitter.com/6vi1uCGIt5
— Billy Corben (@BillyCorben) August 2, 2020
The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum is an independent organization, but the U.S. Navy SEAL Twitter account confirmed it was working to make certain no active-duty Navy personnel were involved in the controversial incident.
The U.S. Navy SEALs denounced the events in which they took place.
“We became aware today of a video of a Navy SEAL Museum event posted last year with a military working dog demonstration. In the demonstration, the target is wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey,” the Navy SEAL statement read. “The inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the U.S. Navy. 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.”
https://t.co/c2Rtf9dARW pic.twitter.com/Crgj5r1VtC
— US Navy SEALs (@us_navyseals) August 2, 2020
Kaepernick began his kneeling during the U.S. National Anthem during the 2016 NFL season in what he described as a protest against police brutality. He has not played in an NFL game since the 2016 season and in 2017, Kaepernick left the San Francisco 49ers and became a free agent. Kaepernick has since struggled to find a spot on a new NFL team, but did become the face of Nike’s 2018 JustDoIt advertising campaign.
