Colin Kaepernick

Kaepernick was born in 1987 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Heidi Russo, who is white (of Italian ancestry).[10][11] His birth father, who is African-American, (of Ghanaian, Nigerian, and Ivorian ancestry) and whose identity is unknown,[lower-alpha 1] separated from Russo before Kaepernick was born.[12][13][14] Russo placed Kaepernick for adoption with a white couple named Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. The couple had two older children: son Kyle and daughter Devon. The Kaepernicks decided to adopt a boy after losing two other sons to heart defects.[12][15][16]

Kaepernick lived in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, until age four, when his family moved to California.[17][18] When he was eight years old, Kaepernick began playing youth football as a defensive end and punter. At age nine, he was the starting quarterback on his youth team, and he completed his first pass for a long touchdown.[17] A 4.0 GPA student[19] at John H. Pitman High School in Turlock, California, Kaepernick played football, basketball and baseball and was nominated for all-state selection in all three sports his senior year. He was the most valuable player (MVP) of the Central California Conference in football, leading his school to its first-ever playoff victory. In basketball, he was a first-team All-CCC selection at forward and led his 16th-ranked team to a near upset of No. 1-ranked Oak Ridge High School in the opening round of the playoffs. In that game, Kaepernick scored 34 points, but future NBA player Ryan Anderson of Oak Ridge scored 50 points to lead his team to a victory.[20]

Kaepernick received most of his high school accolades as a baseball pitcher. He received several scholarship offers in that sport, but he wanted to play college football.[17] The University of Nevada, Reno was the only college to offer him a football scholarship, and Kaepernick signed with Nevada in February 2006.[18]

Kaepernick started his college career in 2007 with the Wolf Pack as a back-up quarterback, playing in 11 of the team's 13 games. He finished the season with 19 passing touchdowns, three interceptions and 2,175 passing yards, garnering a 53.8% completion percentage.[21] Kaepernick also added 593 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns as Nevada finished 6–7.[22]

As a sophomore, Kaepernick recorded 2,849 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions, 1,130 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. He became just the fifth player in NCAA history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 or more yards in a single season.[23] At the Humanitarian Bowl, he had 370 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, two interceptions, 15 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, earning the game's MVP award despite his team losing the game. At the conclusion of the game, Kaepernick was designated the WAC Offensive Player of the Year. He was the first sophomore to win this award since Marshall Faulk of San Diego State did in 1992. He was also named first-team All-WAC quarterback.[24]

In the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft, Kaepernick was selected in the 43rd round by the Chicago Cubs.[25] He decided that he wanted to continue to play football at the University of Nevada and did not sign with the Cubs.[26]

Kaepernick finished his junior season with 2,052 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns, six interceptions 1,183 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns.[27] Kaepernick led the Wolf Pack to an 8–5 record and a second-place finish in the WAC behind undefeated Boise State. He was named second-team All-WAC quarterback for the season.

Kaepernick in 2010

On November 26, 2010, Kaepernick led his team to a 34–31 overtime victory against the previously undefeated Boise State Broncos, snapping their 24-game win streak that had dated back to the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl.[28] This game was played on Nevada's senior night, the final home game for Kaepernick. Nevada Head Coach Chris Ault would later call this game the "most important win in program history".

Kaepernick ended his senior season with 3,022 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions, 1,206 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. He joined Florida's Tim Tebow as the second quarterback in FBS history to have 20 passing touchdowns and 20 rushing touchdowns in the same season.[29] Nevada claimed a share of the WAC title after defeating Louisiana Tech. Kaepernick was named WAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year with Kellen Moore, who had won the award in 2009.[30]

Kaepernick finished his collegiate career with 10,098 passing yards, 82 passing touchdowns, 24 interceptions, 4,112 rushing yards and 59 rushing touchdowns. He became the first quarterback in the history of Division I FBS college football to have passed for over 10,000 yards and rushed for over 4,000 yards in a collegiate career, a feat that has not been duplicated. He also tied former Nebraska quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch for most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in FBS history.

Kaepernick maintained a 4.0 grade point average during his college years and graduated in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in business management.[31] After his senior season, Kaepernick was eligible for the 2011 NFL Draft.

Leading up to the 2016 season, Kaepernick was active in July on social media with social commentary on the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, the police shooting of Charles Kinsey and the acquittal of police in the death of Freddie Gray.[112][113] In the 49ers third preseason game of the season, reporter Steve Wyche noticed Kaepernick sitting down during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner",[112] as opposed to the tradition of standing.[114] During a post-game interview, Kaepernick explained his position stating, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder", referencing a series of African-American deaths caused by law enforcement that led to the Black Lives Matter movement and adding that he would continue to protest until he feels like "[the American flag] represents what it's supposed to represent".[115][116] It had gone largely unnoticed that Kaepernick was also sitting during the anthem in the previous two weeks, when he was inactive and not in uniform while recovering from injuries.[112][117]

In the 49ers' fourth and final preseason game, Kaepernick kneeled during the U.S. national anthem to show more respect to former and current U.S. military members while still protesting during the anthem after having a conversation with former NFL player and U.S. military veteran Nate Boyer.[118] After the September 2016 police shootings of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott,[119] Kaepernick commented publicly on the shootings saying, "this is a perfect example of what this is about".[120] Photos then surfaced of him wearing socks depicting police officers as pigs.[121][122] In a statement he acknowledged wearing them as a statement against "rogue cops". He maintained that he has friends/family in law enforcement and that there are cops with "good intentions" who protect and serve and he was not targeting all police.[123] Kaepernick went on to kneel during the anthem prior to every 49ers game that season.

After initial backlash against his protests, Kaepernick pledged to donate $1 million to "organizations working in oppressed communities."[124][125] He donated $25,000 to the Mothers Against Police Brutality organization that was started by Collette Flanagan, whose son fell victim to police brutality.[126] In 2018, Kaepernick announced that he would make the final $100,000 donation of his "Million Dollar Pledge" in the form of $10,000 donations to charities that would be matched by celebrities.[127]

Inspired by Kaepernick, other NFL players and pro athletes conducted various forms of silent protests during the national anthem.[80][92] The NFL experienced an 8 percent decline in viewership in the 2016 season with the No. 1 reason, cited by 30 percent of fans in a J. D. Power survey, being the player protests.[92][128] His San Francisco teammates awarded him the team's Len Eshmont Award, as the player who best epitomized the inspirational and courageous play of former 49er Len Eshmont.[129][130] Then-49ers head coach Kelly later said that Kaepernick was "zero distraction" that season.[67][131]

Also in 2016, Kaepernick and his partner Nessa founded the "Know Your Rights Camp", an organization which held free seminars to disadvantaged youths to teach them about self-empowerment, American history, and legal rights.[132] In April 2020, the Know Your Rights Camp launched a relief fund for individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[133] Kaepernick donated $100,000 to the fund.[134]

In 2018, Nike released an ad featuring Kaepernick with the text, "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." NFL spokesperson Jocelyn Moore responded to the ad saying Kaepernick's social justice campaign, "deserve(s) our attention and action."[135]

In July 2019, Nike released a shoe featuring the Betsy Ross flag called the Air Max 1 Quick Strike Fourth of July trainers. The trainers were designed to celebrate Independence Day. The model was subsequently withdrawn after Colin Kaepernick told the brand he and others found the flag offensive because they associated it with slavery.[136][137][138] Joe Scarborough decried Nike's decision as "politically correct madness", saying that the flag should be seen as a symbol of resistance against King George III. Scarborough also felt that this instance of political correctness could help Donald Trump to be re-elected.[139] Charles Taylor of Forbes described Nike's decision as a blunder, noting that no significant number of Americans view the Betsy Ross flag as a racist symbol and that a poll shows that 85% of American millennials like seeing the U.S. flag on Independence Day.[140] Nike's decision to withdraw the product drew criticism from Arizona's Republican Governor, Doug Ducey, who subsequently pulled a US$2 million tax incentive for a Nike factory in the state,[141] and Texas's Republican Senator Ted Cruz.[142]

In June 2020, amid the George Floyd protests, The New York Times wrote that the NFL had wrestled with the issue of race, noting that three-quarters of NFL players are African-American, yet nearly every NFL team owner is white (and several are prominent Trump supporters).[143] NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell put out a statement where he apologized for not listening to the concerns of African-American players.[143] The Times wrote that Goodell's "words were panned as hypocritical because of the league owners’ rejection of Kaepernick."[143] Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated wrote, "Mainstream white America is going to reconsider Kaepernick at some point — the way it reconsidered Muhammad Ali years after he refused to go to Vietnam, the way it reconsidered Jackie Robinson and Jack Johnson. Progress comes in fits and starts, and this country tends to punish those who urge it to move faster. The reconsideration of Kaepernick has begun."[144][145] In August, after the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, Goodell said that he wished the NFL had listened earlier to Kaepernick's reasons for kneeling.[146]

Kaepernick supports the abolition of police and prisons. In October 2020, Kaepernick Publishing launched a project with Medium titled "Abolition For The People," a collection of 30 essays written by several activists calling for police and prison abolition and criticizing prison reform as only "reforming, reshaping, and rebranding"[147] systemic racism.[148][149][150]

Kaepernick was baptized Methodist, confirmed Lutheran, and attended a Baptist church during his college years.[151] Kaepernick spoke about his faith saying, "I think God guides me through every day and helps me take the right steps and has helped me to get to where I'm at."[152] Kaepernick has multiple tattoos about his faith. His right arm features a scroll with the Bible verse Psalm 18:39 written on it. Tattooed under the scroll are praying hands with the phrase "To God The Glory" written on them. To the left of both the scroll and praying hands is the word "Faith" written vertically. His left arm features a Christian cross with the words "Heaven Sent" on it referring to Jesus Christ. Written above and below the cross is the phrase "God Will Guide Me". Written to the left and right of the cross is the Bible verse Psalm 27:3.[153][154][155]

Kaepernick reportedly started dating radio personality and television host Nessa Diab in July 2015,[156] and officially went public about their relationship in February 2016.[157]

Kaepernick began following a vegan diet in late 2015.[158]

Kaepernick's family has had a pet African spurred tortoise named Sammy since he was 10 years old.[159]

In February 2020, Kaepernick started Kaepernick Publishing. Kaepernick will publish a memoir through his publishing company and Audible.[160]

• 2017 GQ Magazine Citizen of the Year[161]
• 2017 Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award[162]
• 2017 American Civil Liberties Union Eason Monroe Courageous Advocate Award[163]
• 2017 Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship honoree[164]
• 2018 Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award[165]
• 2018 Harvard University W. E. B. Du Bois Medal[166]
• 2020 Ripple of Hope Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights[167]

• Towler, C., Crawford, N., & Bennett, R. (2020). Shut Up and Play: Black Athletes, Protest Politics, and Black Political Action. Perspectives on Politics, 18(1), 111–127.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Colin Kaepernick.

• Official website
• San Francisco 49ers profile
• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · Pro Football Reference
• ESPN.com college profile