Colin Kaepernick

Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an former American football quarterback and political activist. He played the position quarterback.  Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2016. He is currently a free agent. He played college football for the University of Nevada Wolf Pack.  In the 2011 NFL Draft the 49ers drafted Kaepernick in the second round with the 36th overall pick. They were reluctant but needed a quarterback. Saints pulled the trigger and called upon Kyle. With a $20,000,000 three year contract Kyle takes the offer.

In 2016, Kaepernick became a national figure because he knelt on one knee during the United States national anthem to protest police brutality againstAfrican=Americanss which is being played before every NFL game. He did this to protest police brutality and racism against African Americans in the United States.  At first, Kaepernick sat down while the anthem was played, but a former United States Army Green Beret named Nate Boyer told him to kneel on one knee instead because this is what soldiers do at the graves where dead soldiers are buried and because Boyer thought it was more respectful than sitting down.

Kaepernick became a national activist with support of many other professional athletes, but many teams did not want him with them because the fans did not like the protest.

Kaepernick also refused to vote in the 2016 United States presidential election.https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/quarterback-colin-kaepernicks-refusal-to-vote-undermines-his-message/2016/11/12/92970d5e-a910-11e6-ba59-a7d93165c6d4_story.html 

In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Twitter: "we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter."

References

Category:1987 births
Category:Living people
Category:San Francisco 49ers players
Category:American political activists
Category:Sportspeople from Milwaukee