10 years ago, Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem before the team’s pre-season game against the Green Bay Packers.
“To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.” Kaepernick said.
Kaepernick is one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL. In 2015, shoulder and knee injuries forced him out of the games for a while to recover. Kaepernick started getting active on social media, speaking out about major issues. Then, when he was back in the game, the online protesting moved into the NFL field. It started when Kaepernick didn’t dress in either of the first two games, and in 2016 games, Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem.
“When there’s significant change and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, this country is representing people the way that it’s supposed to, I’ll stand,” he said
In September games, he kneeled as the national anthem played during the last preseason game against the San Diego Chargers. It wasn’t only him. Throughout the following seasons, many NFL players and other sports teams joined in these silent protests.
A year later, over 200 players sat or knelt after Trump called on all NFL owners to “fire” all protesting players.
Many teams didn’t want Kaepernick in the NFL free-agent market after the protests, so he filed a formal grievance accusing teams’ owners of trying to keep him out of the league.
The NFL didn’t immediately respond. Kaepernick said he just wanted to be treated fairly and to return to playing football in the NFL, so he hired attorney Mark Geragos, and in 2019, Kaepernick reached a financial settlement with the NFL.
“Such a precedent threatens all patriotic Americans and harkens back to our darkest days as a nation. Protecting all athletes from such collusive conduct is what compelled Mr. Kaepernick to file his grievance,” Kaepernick’s attorney, Mark Geragos said.
Currently, Kaepernick is a civil rights activist, working through the non-profit organization he co-founded with his wife Nessa Diab in 2016, Know Your Rights Camp (KYRC). He’s also preparing for the release of his memoir, The Perilous Fight.
“Our mission is to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders,” KYRC states.
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