For those of us who covered him as a rookie sensation, the turn of events these past two years are a reminder of how quickly everything can change in sports. Of course it can happen in life too, but the bright lights of stardom leave scorching scars. Just ask Tiger Woods. The difference here is that Kaepernick has ignited a constitutional firestorm. His pre-game stance is bridging the line between sports and politics. This conversation reaches far beyond the football field and encompasses all Americans, sports fan or not. You don't need to know anything about football to voice an opinion about this hot topic. At Washington Square park in North Beach, Tom called the 49ers quarterback "un-American." Rachel told me, "it's a shame someone who could be a positive role model for our kids chooses to disrespect his country."Even Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had something to say about the controversy. "It's a terrible thing," Trump argued. "If he doesn't like American he should move."
But the 28 year old bi-racial Milwaukee native who grew up in Turlock, California, insists that couldn't be further from the truth.
"I love America," explained Kaepernick. "I'm not anti-American, I love America, I love people. That's why I'm doing this. I want to help make things better," he told reporters following Thursday night's game.
"And I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from," continued the night's starting QB. "I've had more conversations about human rights and oppression and things that need to change in the past week than I've had in my entire life. I think there are conversations happening not only in NFL locker rooms, but around the country. I've had friends that aren't on football teams say 'I respect what you're doing, I support you." And he's garnered support from at least one fellow player. Safety Eric Reid, joined his quarterback and knelt on the sidelines during the singing of the anthem at the "salute to the Military Night" in San Diego. The two heard boos from the pro-military crowd, but that didn't deter them. In fact, after the 49ers' 31-21 victory over the Chargers, Kaepernick turned the focus on the media. "The media is painting this as I'm anti-American, anti-men and women of the military and that's not the case at all," Kaepernick stated. "I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harm's way for my freedom of speech and my freedoms in this country and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee so I have the utmost respect for them. I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way." And he explained he changed his protest from sitting to kneeling to honor all military personnel. I wanted to see him do more,and he did. To literally put his money where his cause is, Kaepernick says he will donate $1 million to groups that help people affected by racial inequality and police brutality. While his critics are many, Kaepernick did receive an impressive stamp of approval from legendary sports and social activist icon, Kareen Abdul-Jabbar. "Mr. Kaepernick is trying to get people to understand that he is concerned about a very important issue, which is the unnecessary killings of so many young black men," said the Hall of Fame Center. "He's really concerned about that and he went to a great length in order to call attention to that issue. There are a lot of people who don't like his tone, or maybe the venue that he chose to make his statement. But the fact that he is concerned about a real issue I think is a very admirable thing, and I hope that he will continue to find ways to bring this message across to people in a positive way." Many 49er fans like Ronny in San Francisco just hope Kaepernick can focus on football. They want to see his play on the field return to that of the 2013 season when he crushed the quarterback rushing record and lead his team to the Super Bowl. But that may be tougher than tackling the social issues of our time. At least there, Kaepernick is succeeding in getting people talking, and talking is the first step to change as long as there is action that follows it. And yes, Kaepernick did his part by having his best outing on the field in 15 months. The embattled quarterback completed 11 of 18 passes for 103 yards and rushed for 38 yards on four carries in his two quarters of work in the team's last pre-season game. The saga both on and off the field continues, and for now, we are all tuning in.
