Former NFL quarterback and social justice activist Colin Kaepernick spoke out against former President Trump ahead of Tuesday’s presidential election. interview On Fridays, we host the Wall Street Journal podcast “The Future of Everything.”
Kaepnerick protested. Police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem at a San Francisco 49ers game in 2016. Trump won the election that year, and took credit for the player’s lack of contract in March 2017 when Kaepernick no longer played for the 49ers. Another team signed.
“They (NFL Owners) I don’t want to receive nasty tweets from Donald Trump. Do you believe it?” President Trump said this at a rally held in Louisville, Kentucky on March 21, 2017.
Trump took a stronger stance on the topic during his infamous rambling speech at a rally for Republican Senator Luther Strange that September. At that point, Kaepernick was no longer in the NFL, but other players around the league began following his example, including kneeling during games.
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Former President Trump, Republican presidential candidate, speaks at a campaign rally at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan, Friday, November 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
“When someone disrespects our flag, one of the NFL owners says, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. out! I was fired. Don’t you want to see me say, ‘I’m fired!’” Trump said.
Less than a week later, Trump reiterated his position in an interview with “FOX & Friends” co-host Pete Hegseth.
“The NFL cannot ignore our country,” President Trump said. “They can’t ignore our flag or our national anthem,” he said.
Recalling the incident in an interview last Friday, Kaepernick said it was “easier to analyze” now than it was seven years ago.
“One of the important key factors to think about in relation to that moment is what it actually means at that point for the president at the time to target individual citizens and use the power of his office. The power of influence that can try to minimize individuals and their aspirations, when I look back at that moment, I think is very pervasive in where we are now and in the future we have decided to build together. “Kaepernick said.
Colin KAEPERNICK is convinced ‘not being attached’ to the NFL is the reason he’s not playing.
Colin Kaepernick participates in a throwing demonstration during halftime of a Michigan spring football game at Michigan Stadium on April 2, 2022, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Jamie Crawford/Getty Images)
The former quarterback also detailed how he viewed the George Floyd riots in 2020.
“I think the fundamental thing is, should people be able to live better lives, should they be able to live without the threat of death? “I think that’s fundamentally the basis of this, and if you take it one step further, should people be discriminated against because of their skin color, their religion, their place of residence, their socioeconomic status?” Kaepernick said.
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Colin Kaepernick interacts with fans during a Michigan spring football game at Michigan Stadium on April 2, 2022 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Jamie Crawford/Getty Images)
Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since being released by the 49ers following the 2016 season. Several coaches have argued. Kaepernick joins He trained with teams in 2019, but no team signed him.
Kaepernick also settled a 2019 complaint against the NFL alleging that team owners conspired to keep him out of the league.
In the summer of 2020, Trump repeatedly advocated for the team to sign Kaepernick, but also cautioned that they should only do so if the former quarterback is “capable.”
In an interview Friday, Kaepernick insisted that the 36-year-old is following a schedule of waking up at 3:30 a.m. every day so he can continue NFL training in case a team wants to sign him. Kaepernick says he did all this while serving as CEO of tech startup Lumi Story AI.
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