Colin Kaepernick

 The Beginning:

Colin Kaepernick kneeled down for the national anthem on September 1, 2016. This was the day that changed sports in the U.S forever. Kaepernick spent six years with the 49ers until kneeling down led to his seemingly blackballing by the league's team owners. Kaepernick became a free agent in March 2017 and hasn't played pro football since. He sued the NFL for allegedly colluding to keep him out of the league, a claim settled out of court earlier this year. To this day, he continues to be a civil rights leader. 

Image

He has become an important image to what is now happening in the U.S. In June of this year we saw the uproar of the Black Lives Matter movement upon the brutal muder of George Floyed, resurfacing of Breonna Taylor and the murders of numerous Black lives. He used his privilege of being a public figure to protest peacefully, while on his job. That was very shocking and controversial for the NFL, so much so that they fired Kaepernickfor the 49ners and has not played football ever since. The NFL never put out a statement of the issues at hand witht he murder of George Floyed, until the public started questioning their accountability. 

My Insight 

The year 2020 has been a whirlwind, we have been experiencing a global pandemic, a civil rights movement, DACA changes, and a new presidency amongst other events. Around June of 2020, some of the world was able to take a look at the generational injustice of Black people in the U.S. With the brutal murder of George Floyed by police, civil rights activist from the 60’s and BLM members used their voices and peacefully protested and gave knowledge about what was happening. Accompanied by multitudes the BLM protests were disturbed by police, they were teargassed, tackled and some even kidnapped. People protested for months during a pandemic, showing strong stance, they were not giving up. Kaepernick was a great example of the responsibility celebrities hold when it comes to social justice issues.

-Rosario Ruiz-Nieto