Colin Kaepernick says NFL is 'actively blackballing me' 10 years after kneeling protest began

It was 10 years ago to the date that Colin Kaepernick, as well as his San Francisco 49ers teammate Eric Reid, kneeled during the national anthem before their preseason game against the San Diego Chargers.

The move, which was initially sitting on the bench during the anthem in August 2016 before switching to a kneel, was done to protest police brutality and racial inequality in the United States – an action that would cause Kaepernick to become one of the most divisive sports stars in the country.

Kaepernick’s decision to kneel ultimately came at a cost for his NFL career, as no one team picked him up after he opted out of his 49ers contract in March 2017. He went 1-10 in his 11 starts the season before, where he was coming off a serious knee injury from the 2015 season.

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Kaepernick has said on many occasions he believes the NFL blackballed him because of his kneeling protest, though the league has denied that each time. Ten years later, Kaepernick told NBC News he still believes the NFL is "actively blackballing me."

"I’m not gonna support an organization that one, is actively blackballing me, but two, has targeted my brothers who have been protesting as part of this as well," Kaepernick told the outlet. "I watch college football."

Kaepernick added "there’s not a definitive moment that I would point to" in terms of why he believes the NFL has blackballed him. But rather, he believes, once he became a free agent in 2017 and his political and societal beliefs were out there, no team wanted him.

"Coming on the back of going to a Super Bowl, going to an NFC Championship, setting records, and not a single team would bring me in, even for a workout?" Kaepernick said.

Kaepernick still holds the NFL single-game playoff record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 181 against the Green Bay Packers, which was during the 49ers’ run to Super Bowl XLVII. They eventually lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-31, on Feb. 3, 2013. During the 2013 season, the 49ers lost in the NFC Championship game to the Seattle Seahawks – the team that would bring him in for his only meeting during the 2017 offseason to chat about potentially signing.

Kaepernick claimed then-head coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider discussed his political beliefs.

"In pretty much any environment outside the NFL, would be immediate litigation," Kaepernick added.

Kaepernick also mentioned that some coaches and GMs in the NFL did reach out as he wasn’t being signed, saying "we want to bring you in, but it’s getting shut down above us." He mentioned in his upcoming memoir, "The Perilous Fight," that then-Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was among those he spoke with in 2017, with his brother, Jim Harbaugh, serving as the 49ers’ head coach while Kaepernick was there.

Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL in October 2017 alleging that owners were colluding to keep him out of the league. He and Reid settled their collusion grievance against the league on Feb. 15, 2019, receiving less than $10 million total. Reid was playing for the Carolina Panthers at the time.

NBC News reports a player within the league in 2016 said, "Everybody believes that he was blackballed" in reference to Kaepernick.

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"Those are decisions that each individual owner has to make and their clubs, coaches, GMs," Goodell said to NBC in 2020 when asked about Kaepernick not being in the league. "And I’ve talked to a lot of our clubs about it and I’ve encouraged them. I’d love to see him play again."

The NFL tried to set up a workout for Kaepernick in November 2019 following the lawsuit settlement, which he called off because of a waiver he believed would sign away his employment rights and potential future claims against the league.

Instead, Kaepernick put together his own workout, setting it up at a high school field close to an hour away from the originally-planned venue to allow better media access than what the NFL was initially going to give him. There were seven teams that showed up to Charles Drew High School in Riverdale, Georgia to watch Kaepernick: the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, 49ers, then-Washington Redskins, and Detroit Lions (the Buffalo Bills were also reported by some to have a representative present).

Kaepernick never signed with a team.

In 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders brought in Kaepernick for their own workout, and according to NFL legend Warren Sapp, he heard it was a "disaster" and "one of the worst workouts ever."

Meanwhile, in 2021, a Netflix limited series titled, "Colin in Black & White," saw Kaepernick liken the NFL Draft process and scouting combine to a slave auction, causing a massive stir of debate and controversy.

"Before they put you on the field, teams poke, prod and examine you searching for any defect that might affect your performance," he said in the series., as scenes of players portrayed by Black actors transitioned to a slave auction. "No boundary respect. No dignity left intact."

Now 38, Kaepernick believes the NFL, despite millions in donations to the Inspire Change fund, expanding the Rooney Rule, and working with the Players Coalition to help address social justice reform, has not "materially changed."

"None of their actions show that," he told NBC News. "We have seen it time and time again. For them, it has gone back to business as usual, and I think that is a tragedy that we have allowed them to be able to get to that point."

The NFL told the outlet, " The issues Colin and other NFL players raised remain important to the league and deserving of continued attention and action."

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"Since 2017, that work has reached thousands of national and grassroots partners, backed by more than $575 million in contributions," the league added, referencing its work with Inspire Change. "We remain committed to listening, collaborating, and taking action that creates lasting impact."

Kaepernick maintains that he’s still training as if he will play in the NFL again someday, including early-morning workouts, before working on his various business ventures.

Kaepernick is set to receive the Muhammad Ali Center’s Humanitarian of the Year Award on Nov. 7, recognizing his work against racial injustice and efforts to support underserved communities.