Sports

Former NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick wants to make a comeback to the NFL. On September 1, 2016, in a preseason matchup vs the San Diego Chargers Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem. This symbolized that he wanted to protest for social injustice and racist police misconduct. Since then, multiple athletes around the world have taken knees to protest social injustice. But was what Kaepernick started right, and did he do it for the right cause? 

Kaepernick just released a documentary on Netflix called “Colin in Black & White”. He states in the documentary that he is training anywhere from 5-6 days a week to take a team back to the Super Bowl. What he also said on the documentary did not help his case. Kaepernick stated, “Before they put you on the field, teams poke, prod and examine you searching for any defect that might affect your performance. No boundary respected. No dignity left intact.” He also stated, “What they don’t want you to understand is what’s being established is a power dynamic.” Kaepernick is referring to the NFL and their rookie draft. In the Netflix show he also stated that the NFL Draft is just like a slave auction. If Kaepernick had any chance of coming back before, this hurt it. 

In an interview with CBS News, Kaepernick wanted to make it clear that he wants to be back in the league no matter who takes him. He really just doesn’t care and wants to just be back because of his love for football. “I am still up at 5am, training five, six days a week making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again.” He also stated in the interview, “That’s not something I will ever let go of, regardless of the actions of 32 teams and their partners to deny me employment. The same way I was persistent in high school is the same way that I want to be and am going to be persistent here.”  

Kaepernick who is now 33 years old, hasn’t taken a snap in the NFL since 2016. In late 2019 he held an open workout for 8 of the 32 teams in the NFL to show that he was in shape but not a single team signed him. He says that the reason he still hasn’t played is because teams don’t want him because of the protests. When interviewed on this topic by Vogue Magazine he said, “Your gonna have to continue to deny me and do so in a public way. And you’re going to expose yourself by that, but it won’t be because I’m not ready or not prepared. But in that process, I’m also not going to let you bury my future. I’m going to continue to work on the acting and producing side, continue to do the work with Know Your Rights, and make sure we are having an impact. I think that’s the beauty of us collectively, we are not one dimensional.”