Former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick was a very good athlete and is now an amazing activist for civil rights in America. He started kneeling during the national anthem at NFL preseason games in 2016 in order to protest police brutality and racism in America.
According to a new interview with Paper Magazine, what inspired Kaepernick to speak out against injustices in America and become more involved in activism work was the December 2015 police shooting of Mario Woods. The incident happened in San Francisco as the 26-year-old black man was shot 21 times by five different cops.
Cops were in the area after reports surfaced about a nearby stabbing. Woods had a knife on him but he didn’t use it on anyone as was still shot to death. The cops were sadly not charged because Woods posed as a “credible threat.” His family later reached a $400,000 settlement.
As far as Kaepernick, he launched his Know Your Rights Camp in 2016 to support civil rights work in the community. He’s also still sadly being blackballed by the NFL for kneeling to protest racism and police brutality. Former 49ers teammate Eric Reid kneeled with him and was blackballed too until he signed with the Carolina Panthers last season. He and Kaepernick reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount this past spring.
