Navy investigates video of dogs attacking Kaepernick fill-in

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Navy is investigating an
incident in which dogs attacked a “Colin Kaepernick stand-in” during a
K-9 demonstration during a 2019 fundraiser at the Navy SEAL Museum in
Florida.

The Navy said in a statement posted on Twitter that officials became aware of the video on Sunday.

Kaepernick
is a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who began kneeling during
the playing of “The Star Spangled Banner” before games to protest social
injustice and police brutality. He played his final NFL game in January
2017. He offered support to those protesting the death of George Floyd
at the hands of Minneapolis police officers in May, and the NFL’s
commissioner has apologized for not listening earlier to players’
concerns about social injustice.

The videos show four dogs
attacking a man, who is wearing a red Kaepernick football jersey over
heavily padded gear as people stand nearby watching. In a second video,
the man is laying on the ground when he’s approached by men wearing
fatigues and holding rifles, saying, “On your belly.” The man replies,
“Oh, man, I will stand,” as he rolls over, followed by laughing from the
crowd.

The videos were apparently posted on Instagram last year and resurfaced over the weekend.

“The
inherent message of this video is completely inconsistent with the
values and ethos of Naval Special Warfare and the U.S. Navy,” the
statement said.

The Navy said the “initial indications” are that
no active duty personnel or equipment were used in the demonstration at
the “independent organization’s event.”

The Navy SEAL Museum
is located in Fort Pierce, Florida, which is north of West Palm Beach
on the state’s Atlantic Coast. According to its website, the National
Navy UDT-SEAL Museum is the only museum dedicated solely to preserving
the history of the U.S. Navy SEALs and their predecessors.