Navy cuts ties with museum over video of dogs biting man in Colin Kaepernick jersey

A viral video led to the Navy severing ties with an independent SEAL museum in Fort Pierce, Fla., according to a report from the Associated Press.

The video, taken in 2018, shows four dogs in a K-9 demonstration latching onto a man in protective gear and draped in the No. 7 jersey of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. It has generated millions of views on Twitter.

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

Kaepernick, who initiated the practice of kneeling during the national anthem at sporting events to protest racism and police brutality, hasn’t suited up for an NFL team since 2016. His protests have made him the focus of intense anger from those — including, most prominently, President Trump — who say it’s disrespectful to the flag and to U.S. troops and veterans.

In an email to his forces Monday, the commander of the SEALs, Rear Admiral Collin Green, said the unit is suspending its affiliation with the nonprofit organization that runs the museum.

“Each and every one of us serves to protect our fellow Americans — ALL Americans. Even the perception that our commitment to serving the men and women of this nation is applied unevenly is destructive,” wrote Green, who leads the Naval Special Warfare Command, according to the AP.

The museum being independent does not prevent the video’s corrosive effects, Green wrote in the letter, provided to AP under the condition of anonymity.

“While the museum is an independent non-profit organization and the participants were contracted employees from outside the (Department of Defense), in many ways, these facts are irrelevant,” he wrote. “We have been inextricably linked to this organization that represents our history.

“We may not have contributed to the misperception in this case, but we suffer from it and will not allow it to continue.”

Another video, according to the AP, shows the man in the Kaepernick jersey on the ground with a dog biting him and a man with a rifle ordering him to turn over on his stomach.

“Oh, man, I will stand,” the man in the jersey says, referencing Kaepernick’s kneeling, which was suggested by Nate Boyer, a former Army special forces soldier, and which has become common among athletes during the national anthem.

The Naval Special Warfare Command has battled discipline problems and scandals, the AP notes, including the war crimes trial of Special Operations Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher last year and a platoon of Navy commandos being pulled from Iraq over an alcohol-fueled Fourth of July party and an allegation of rape against a female service member.

“We own our relationship with the American people and we must honor it,” Green wrote. “We also own our relationship with each other, and our fellow teammates will all receive the dignity and respect they deserve.”

The Navy’s relationship with the museum will be revisited, he wrote, “when I am convinced that they have made the necessary changes to ensure this type of behavior does not happen again.”