Protest before the Battle of the Bay

By Luke Johnson

It happened at the Battle of the Bay, which should come as no surprise.

From Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ black panther salute during the 1968 Summer Olympics to Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem — sports activism is ingrained in the Bay Area culture

Kayla Morris became the first NFL cheerleader to take a knee during the Star Spangled Banner, according to Business Insider. It happened during Thursday’s nationally-televised game between the 49ers and Raiders at Levi’s Stadium.

The 49ers Gold Rush member is from Antioch and graduated from Deer Valley High School in 2012.

Her action is presumably in support of the aforementioned Kaepernick, who began protesting in effort to bring attention to racial oppression and police brutality in 2016.

The 49ers have yet to comment about Morris.

In the past, 49ers Owner Jed York has been supportive of players who protest.

This was not the first time a 49ers cheerleader took a knee. In another photo online, former 49ers cheerleader Maria Mendez, dressed in a Santa’s Helper Christmas outfit, can be seen taking a knee before the Dec. 24, 2017 game according to a report by KTVU Fox2 News.

Read more on KRON4.com

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

the attachments to this post:

Cheerleader kneels by @gatorlenny

Cheerleader kneels by KTVU2

Kayla Morris takes a knee Thurs., Nov. 1, 2018. Photo source unknown

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