Why The NFL Dumped Colin Kaepernick

For as long as he can remember, Colin Kaepernick knew he was different, and his parents made sure to remind him that was a good thing. Born to a broken household in 1987, the biracial Milwaukee native was quickly given up for adoption and welcomed into the home of Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, a white couple. "We've always been really open about the adoption, and we were always very open about the skin colors," Teresa Kaepernick said in 2010 to The New York Times. "We pointed it out as a positive, and he saw his difference and was comfortable with it."

But there was something else different about Kaepernick: He was a superlative football player. Landing a scholarship from the University of Nevada, he played quarterback for the Wolf Pack and broke several team records, prompting National Football League (NFL) franchise San Francisco 49ers to draft him in 2011. Two seasons later, he led the team to a Super Bowl appearance against the Baltimore Ravens in 2013. Despite Kaepernick amassing more passing yardage than opposing QB Joe Flacco, the 49ers still lost 34-31.

Besides elevating the 49ers up the league rankings, Kaepernick showed yet another side. He had the gumption to defy citizen protocol surrounding the national anthem in order to protest police brutality and systemic racism in the U.S. That social justice gesture not only heightened public awareness of those atrocities, it also divided the country and punted him right out of the NFL.

Throughout the rest of the preseason rounds in 2016, Colin Kaepernick was mercilessly hounded for his refusal to stand for the national anthem before the opening kick-off. While the quarterback had never previously been vocal about social issues, in an ESPN interview, he said his public perspective was long overdue. Recalling a time back in college when police drew guns on him and his roommate when both were the only Black men in the vicinity, Kaepernick said, "I have experienced this. People close to me have experienced this ... So this is something that needs to be addressed."

Kaepernick asked for input from colleagues and other professionals, including Dr. Harry Edwards, a sports sociologist who advised athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith on how to conduct their infamous Black Power protest at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. But one unlikely source, former Green Beret Nate Boyer ꟷ who previously wrote Kaepernick a reluctant letter of support ꟷ provided him with a solution on how to take his protest further. "I suggested him taking a knee instead of sitting even though I wanted him to stand, and he wanted to sit," said Boyer to NPR. "And it was, like, this compromise that we sort of came to. And that's where the kneeling began." When the two met in September 2016, Boyer dispensed that advice, just hours away from San Francisco's exhibition game against the San Diego Chargers.

It was a day football fans wouldn't forget.

The kneeling protest to raise awareness of violence against African Americans certainly garnered more than Colin Kaepernick's share of adversaries across the league, as well as in and out of the bleachers. Still, the naysaying didn't deter the star QB from his objective, including a benevolent fund startup. In a Niners Nation release, Kaepernick announced plans to dedicate $1 million of his salary to communities in need. 

In turn, the 49er was also gifted with a growing contingent of colleagues supporting him. According to CNN, the first to join in was teammate Eric Reid, who kneeled beside Kaepernick on that momentous occasion September 1, 2016. Later, other 49ers like Antoine Bethea and Eli Harold joined the fray by raising their fists when "The Star Spangled Banner" played. So did Los Angeles Rams players Kenny Britt and Robert Quinn. Even U.S. national women's soccer player Megan Rapinoe followed Kaepernick's lead.

But those who joined in found themselves embroiled in other situations. The Miami Herald reported in September 2016 that when a slew of Miami Dolphins players started their own protests during the national anthem, the police union representing team-sponsored Broward County deputies put its foot down. The union asked the deputies to stop escorting the team to the field before games until every Dolphin player agreed to stand for "The Star Spangled Banner." In Beaumont, Texas, the situation was much scarier when ABC reported that members of a youth football team had received death threats for supporting Kaepernick's protest.

In 2017, and for the first time in six seasons, Colin Kaepernick was a non-factor in the NFL standings. It also looked like his controversial protest was losing traction, until U.S. President Donald Trump weighed in. "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners when somebody disrespects our flag to say, 'Get that son of a b***h off the field right now?'" Trump declared during a rally in Huntsville, Alabama. "He's fired! He's fired!" Trump devotees erupted in cheers, although his remarks seemed odd since Kaepernick hadn't played an NFL game in almost a year. But given that this was the same politician who only weeks earlier defended "alt-right" protesters at a deadly Charlottesville rally on grounds that "not all of those people were neo-Nazis," it was like throwing red meat into a ravenous mob. Fellow Republicans joined the fray, including Sen. Ted Cruz who tweeted "Here's a peaceful protest: never buy another shoe, shirt, or jersey of rich spoiled athletes who dishonor our flag."

Players on the Dallas Cowboys started locking arms and kneeling at games in response. "That was a clear shot at Trump," said player Dez Bryant, per CNN. In a show of solidarity, other teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Pittsburgh Steelers also joined in, per ABC. But while player support seemed to vindicate Kaepernick, the former NFL athlete was still unable to land a job.

Still unemployed, Colin Kaepernick was hardly idle, making good on his personal mission to fund needy communities with his Million Dollar Pledge campaign and launching free workshops called Know Your Rights, accessible on his personal website. The former NFL star also made headlines in September 2018 when he renewed an old 2011 deal with Nike, this time worth millions. "Colin Kaepernick is back — at least as far as Madison Avenue is concerned," declared ESPN, which initially broke the story on Twitter, revealing its poster image featuring a Kaepernick close-up and the slogan "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." Nike reportedly felt Kaepernick's message of fighting racial injustice had inspired legions in (and out of) the sporting sector to the point where it made sense to include his campaign in the company's branding. "We wanted to energize its meaning and introduce 'Just Do It' to a new generation of athletes," said Gino Fisanotti, Nike's branding vice-president.

While the reception to the Nike news was largely favorable, according to Associated Press, blowback came from football fans who opposed Kaepernick's protests and threatened to not only boycott Nike, but also cut the company logo out of apparel they had already purchased. President Donald Trump, who frequently railed against NFL players protesting during the national anthem, said the Nike deal sent a "terrible message." Still, the sports shoe and clothing company benefited hugely from the deal, reported Black Enterprise. By November 2019, Nike's value had jumped by $26 billion.

A tragedy in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, cast a more vivid light on what Colin Kaepernick was protesting when a law enforcement officer killed a Black man named George Floyd in broad daylight. Almost immediately, outraged Americans took to the streets in protest. Ten days later, 18 Black NFL players assembled a video for social media pushing the NFL to condemn racism and lend more support to visible minority athletes in the league. "How many times do we need to ask you to listen to your players?" asked one athlete on the tweeted video, directed at the league. "We will not be silenced. We assert the right to peacefully protest," added others.

The next day, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell responded by tweeting an admission on video. "We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest," said Goodell, adding condolences for families affected by police brutality and condemning systemic racism in the country. What the commissioner didn't offer was an apology to Kaepernick. That didn't happen until late August, when he appeared on "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man," a YouTube podcast hosted by former NFL player Emmanuel Acho. "I wish we had listened earlier, Kaep, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to." Goodell said, adding regret that the two never had a dialogue on the issue.

Since Colin Kaepernick's departure from the NFL, debate continues over whether he was blackballed by the league. The evidence is circumstantial at best, since Kaepernick was never charged by the league for his protests; he was fined only once, for $11,000 for "inappropriate language" during a 2014 game. While free-agent quarterbacks in 2017 were quickly getting signed, save for Kaepernick, an NFL statement cited Commissioner Goodell as saying "all the clubs, individually, have to make their own decisions about who's on the roster, who's not on the roster." Still, curiosity might have piqued over the NFL's culpability in any alleged collusion with its franchises after the arbitrator threw out the league's request to dismiss Kaepernick's complaint rather than have the proceedings move toward a hearing. That the NFL and Kaepernick reached a settlement less than four months later is also peculiar, given the complaint was already a year old before the NFL's dismissal request was rejected.

While no smoking gun exists to support Kaepernick's complaint, that 32 teams ꟷ including a few franchises that could have benefited from the free agent's services ꟷ didn't sign him also smacks as odd. But in April 2022, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis spoke out on the NBC Sports program "Race In America," saying he'd welcome Kaepernick to the team. "He deserves every chance in the world to become a quarterback in the National Football League," said Davis. At this writing, however, Kaepernick remains unsigned.