Colin Kaepernick

Colin Rand Kaepernick ( KAP-ər-nik; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and former professional football quarterback. He played for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. In 2016, he gained attention for kneeling during the U.S. national anthem at the start of NFL games in protest of police brutality and racial inequality in the United States. Kaepernick played college football for the Nevada Wolf Pack, winning Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year twice. Selected by the 49ers in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft, Kaepernick began his professional career as a backup to Alex Smith. He became the 49ers' starter in the middle of the 2012 season after Smith was injured and led the team to Super Bowl XLVII, the team's first Super Bowl appearance since 1994. In his first full season as the starter in 2013, Kaepernick helped the 49ers reach the NFC Championship Game. Over the next three seasons, Kaepernick was demoted from and reinstated as the team's starting quarterback, with the 49ers missing the playoffs each year. Kaepernick sat and kneeled during the playing of the U.S. national anthem prior to games throughout the 2016 pre-season and regular season as a protest against police brutality and racial inequality in the United States. The protests were highly polarized, and included negative reactions from U.S. president Donald Trump. Kaepernick became a free agent after the season and was not signed by any team, prompting him to file a grievance against the NFL and team owners in November 2017, accusing them of collusion in keeping him out of the league; Kaepernick withdrew the grievance in February 2019 after reaching a confidential settlement with the NFL. His protests received renewed attention in 2020 amid the George Floyd...