Photo: Rob Carr / Getty Images
At an NFL preseason game on 26 August 2016, the quarterback of the 49ers from San Francisco, Colin Kaepernick , knelt as other players stood to watch the national anthem.
This simple action, which Kaepernick does not intend to convey to the public, gives rise to a controversy that will bring to light the racial tensions within American sports, determine the fate of his football career and reverberate in the sports world for years to come.
Born in Wisconsin in 1987 of a white mother and an African-American father, Colin Kaepernick was adopted by a white couple and grew up in California.
Selected by the 31ers in 1987, Kaepernick became known as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and almost won the Super Bowl in 2012, scoring two touchdowns when the 49ers lost 34-31.
In 2014, he signed a six-year contract extension, but injuries created uncertainty about his future. Kaepernick was recovering from surgery in the summer of 2016, during which he commented on social media about the police murders of Alton Sterling, Philando Castille, Charles Kinsey and Freddy Gray, and did not dress for the first two preseason games of the 35ers, during which he sat for the national anthem.
When he remained seated, despite wearing his uniform, for the third preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on 26 in August, only one reporter realized. When asked about it after the game, Kaepernick replied, “I’m not going to stand up to show pride in a flag of a country that oppresses African Americans and women. People of color. For me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish of me to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people who get paid license and get away with it.”
The 49ers released a statement saying they recognized their right to do whatever he wanted during the anthem, while the NFL stated that it encouraged but did not require its players to stand up.
A few days later, a conversation with a former NFL player and beret Green convinced Kaepernick to kneel, rather than sit, out of respect for members of the military. It was this action, kneeling, that would become associated with Kaepernick and with the protests for racial justice in sports of all the world.
He took a knee before the final preseason game on September 1, along with his teammate Eric Reid, and when the season of the NFL, multiple players across the league were doing the same thing.
President Barack Obama defended Kaepernick’s “constitutional right to make a statement,” while NFL Commissioner Robert Goodell said, “I don’t necessarily agree with him.” I agree with what you’re doing.”
Donald Trump, then a Republican presidential candidate, said that players who took a knee should “try another country,” echoing the opinions of many NFL owners.
Trump and other conservatives would continue to criticize Kaepernick
for the rest of the season, during which Trump shocked the world by winning the election of 2016 on an “America First” platform that vehemently opposed growing calls for police reform.
The 49ers fizzled out as Kaepernick’s protests continued to polarize Americans, and he decided to leave the team after the season. Despite having significantly better credentials than many other free agent quarterbacks, Kaepernick was not offered another NFL contract. For several years, he continued to train like he was in the league while trying to find a new team.
Though he never played again after the season 2016-2017, Kaepernick has remained one of the most talked about figures in the sports world ever since his silent protest was first noted by the media.
He continued to express his views on policing, prison abolition, and racial justice and encouraged other players to speak up. .
Following the events of the summer of 2020 and the protests following the killing of George Floyd by an officer of Minneapolis police, players from across the United States and around the world began taking a knee before games in solidarity with the oppressed and in recognition of the need for racial discrimination.
So, despite a checkered career that most now agree was unfairly cut short, Kaepernick is arguably one of the most influential athletes of the 21st century, seen by many as a martyr who sacrificed his career to assert the right of athletes to speak out on issues of racial justice.
Keep reading:
- FC Barcelona players and the gesture that is applauded after his friendly with Manchester City
- A day that marked the history of sports: the first televised major league game
- The record that Lionel Messi could take from Cristiano Ronaldo if the Portuguese does not play in the Champions League
603553684