February 11, 2018

I think we all know the story of Colin Kaepernick, so I’ll try and keep this one short. 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin (I’m very confused by this. I don’t know where I thought Milwaukee was, but Wisconsin definitely wasn’t Wisconsin.) was blessed with the birth of Colin Rand Kaepernick on November 3, 1987. He was adopted while he was just a few weeks old. 

Colin played football at the University of Nevada and was named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year twice. He also became the only player in NCAA Division I FBS HISTORY to amass 10,000 passing years and 4,000 rushing yards in a career. 

Upon graduating from college, he was selected during the second round pick by the 49ers. 

In 2016, Colin gained national attention when he began a silent protest—choosing not to stand with pride for a country that oppresses Black people and other people of color. He received an outpouring of both support and disapproval for his actions. 

Following Colin’s original protest, other NFL athletes as well as athletes of other sports have supported Colin by also taking a knee during the national anthem, however, Colin was already being ignored by NFL owner and could not find employment in the league. And, feeling like the NFL and its owners were colluding against him, Colin filed a grievance with the NFL during the 2017 season. When the season ended he remained a free agent as no one had signed him. 

While Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned, he continues his activism to speak out against injustice towards Black Americans. He was named “Citizen of the Year” by GQ Magazine in 2017. And in 2018, he completed donating a collective $1 million dollars to different organizations working in oppressed communities.

*Sidenote - I didn't include any of his football stats and career history because I literally don't know what any of it means and would therefore just confuse myself, so it had to be cut. I'm sure you all understand me skipping out on alladat.