SAN DIEGO -- While a naval officer sang the first notes of The Star-Spangled Banner and dozens of military members unfurled an oversized flag on the football field, Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid dropped to one knee on the San Francisco 49ers sideline.With his silent gestures of protest, Kaepernick intends to keep drawing attention to a litany of American problems -- and hes no longer alone.Kaepernick and Reid kneeled during the national anthem Thursday before the 49ers 31-21 preseason victory over San Diego, ignoring scattered boos and angry shouts in Qualcomm Stadium at the Chargers Salute to the Military preseason game.Up north in Oakland, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane showed his support for Kaepernick by sitting on the bench during the anthem.Im not anti-American. I love America, said Kaepernick, who stayed on the field long after the game to sign autographs for enthusiastic fans. I love people. Thats why Im doing this. I want to help make America better, and I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from.Kaepernicks protest has dominated the public discussion of the nations most popular sport this week, and his stance has been met with passionate condemnation and support. His refusal to stand for the anthem first came to public notice last week when he remained seated on the 49ers bench before a preseason game against Green Bay.The quarterback cited numerous reasons for his actions, ranging from racial injustice and minority oppression to police brutality and the treatment of military veterans.Kaepernick said he plans to continue his protests during the regular season. He also intends to donate $1 million to different organizations to help these communities and help these people, declining to provide specifics.The message is that we have a lot of issues in this country that we need to deal with, Kaepernick said. We have a lot of people that are oppressed. We have a lot of people that arent treated equally, that arent given equal opportunities. Police brutality is a huge thing that needs to be addressed. There are a lot of issues that need to be talked about.Kaepernick wasnt earnestly booed in San Diego until he took the field to start the game for the 49ers, immediately leading them on a 16-play, 85-yard touchdown drive against the hometown team. Amid his burgeoning social activism, he is also fighting for a roster spot and attempting to regain the starting job that he lost last season.When Kaepernick left the field following pregame warmups, he was greeted with profanity and obscene gestures from Leo Uzcategui, a 20-year Navy veteran in a military-green Chargers jersey with quarterback Philip Rivers No. 17 in camouflage numbering.I was in the Navy and I saw men and women bleed and die for this flag, Uzcategui said. If he wants to do something, go to some outreach program where he can do some good. And I get it, his First Amendment right. But you dont sit during the presenting of the colors, and you dont sit during the national anthem. That is not the way to do it.A sign in the crowd read: Youre an American. Act like one.But Domenique Banks, a 23-year-old fan from nearby Oceanside, California, got the quarterback to sign his Kaepernick jersey before the game.I told him I appreciate what he is standing up for, Banks said. He said he appreciated it. Most of the people I talk to say the same thing. I dont like that he is sitting during the national anthem, but I appreciate what he is standing for.Kaepernick was thrilled to be joined by Reid, the 49ers starting safety and a fourth-year veteran from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Reid and Kaepernick decided together on kneeling rather than sitting during the anthem.I just wanted to show my support for him, Reid said. He wanted to make it clear that he wasnt trying to be disrespectful to the military or the national anthem, so he decided to change his position to be more respectful, but still bring awareness to the issues that he believes are going on in this country, and that I wholeheartedly believe exist in this country.In Oakland, Lane sat on the bench behind his standing teammates before Seattles game against the Raiders. Lane said he doesnt know Kaepernick, but was standing behind him.Its something I plan to keep on doing until I feel like justice has been served, Lane said. No, I didnt tell anyone I was going to do it. I just did it. ... I dont mean no disrespect toward anybody, but Im just standing behind what I believe.Kaepernick kneeled next to Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret who went to training camp with the Seahawks last year as a long snapper. Boyer, who wrote a conciliatory open letter to Kaepernick earlier this week, spoke with the quarterback about his stance this week. He posted a photo of the two on Twitter with a caption reading, Lets just keep moving forward. This is what America should be all about.When the same naval officer performed God Bless America before the fourth quarter, Kaepernick remained standing and then applauded along with his teammates.Kaepernick doesnt intend his stance to be a criticism of the military. When the Chargers public-address announcer asked fans to recognize active military personnel during a timeout, the quarterback stood and enthusiastically applauded along with his teammates and the entire stadium.I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harms way for my freedom of speech, and my freedoms in this country, and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee, Kaepernick said. So I have the utmost respect for them, and I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way.Kaepernicks social activism, which only emerged publicly in recent weeks, also included support for the Black Lives Matter movement through social media.While negative reaction to the quarterback has been strong, Kaepernick also has been widely praised for his commitment to his stance. Veterans and military members tweeted their support for Kaepernick in recent days under the hashtag VeteransForKaepernick.It was something I was thinking about to make sure that Im not just talking about something, but Im actively being involved and actively trying to make a change in these communities, Kaepernick said. Ive been very blessed to be in this position and be able to make the kind of money I do, and I have to help these people.---AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in Oakland contributed to this story.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Jerseys From China . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. China NFL Jerseys . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. http://www.cheapjerseysfinish.com/ . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Wholesale Stitched Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Fla. NFL Jerseys Supply . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Even with all the new faces on the court, it was old reliable Dusty Hannahs who helped Arkansas when it needed it the most.Hannahs scored 23 points to lead six players in double figures as the re-tooled Razorbacks (1-0) opened their season with a 92-83 win over IPFW on Friday night.The senior led Arkansas with an average of 16.5 points per game a year ago, but coach Mike Anderson added a trio of top junior college recruits in a push for immediate improvement following a disappointing 16-16 record last season.Despite the new-look roster, it was Hannahs who once again took on a leading role when the Razorbacks fell behind by six points to the Mastodons (0-1) in the first half. He finished 7 of 17 from the field and 8 of 10 on free throws.Thats the way its supposed to be, Anderson said. ... Those (older) guys have got to show these guys the way.Daryl Macon, one of Arkansas junior college newcomers, added 13 points while Anton Beard had 12. Preseason Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Moses Kingsley finished with nine points, nine rebounds and seven blocks despite being in foul trouble in the first half.Jaylen Barford, Dustin Thomas and Manuale Watkins finished with 10 points each for the Razorbacks.John Konchar led IPFW with 17 points, one of five in double figures. Kason Harrell added 14 points, while Mo Evans and Bryson Scott had 13 each and Xzavier Taylor 12 for the Mastodons.We came here to win the game, IPFW coach Jon Coffman said. Im obviously very disappointed.The Mastodons led by as many as six points in the first half, taking a 36-30 lead after a 3-pointer by Evans. The shot lifted IPFW to 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, but they were 0 for 8 from behind the arc after that to end the half.Arkansas took advantagee of the cold-shooting stretch, answering with an 18-4 run to go up 48-40 late in the half.dddddddddddd Hannahs had a 3-pointer and Watkins added a basket on the break to cap the run.We got kind of stagnant at times, but we just kept playing our game and got the pace back up to our liking, Hannahs said. I thought we were at our strength, obviously, when we were running and pushing the ball against them.BIG PICTUREDespite earning the season-opening win over the preseason pick to win the Summit League, Arkansas exits the game with continued questions about its rebounding ability and defensive play. A year after finishing 247th in the country by allowing opponents to average 74.7 points per game, the Razorbacks were outrebouned 45-39 -- allowing 21 offensive rebounds by IPFW and 21 second-chance points.JUNIOR COLLEGE IMPACTMacon and Barford were the top two junior college recruits in the country last season, and they both paid immediate dividends on Friday night. In addition to his 13 points, Macon also had seven rebounds, five assist and four steals, while Barford added five rebounds and four assists.TIP-INSKingsley scored seven of his points in the second half, helping the Razorbacks outscore the Mastodons 52-22 in the paint ... The seniors seven blocks were one off his career of eight, which came against Tennessee Tech last season ... IPFW was scoreless on fast-break points and was outscored 24-0 on the break.UP NEXTThe Mastodons return to action on Sunday when they host Kenyon.Arkansas remains at home when it hosts Southern Illinois on Monday night.---More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '