Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been nominated to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which made many sports lovers seethe with rage. They were furthered angered by the fact that a USA Today columnist supported the nomination for the induction.
Equating Kaepernick to legends like Dick Butkus and Mike Ditka, columnist Nancy Armour wrote: "Kaepernick, then with the San Francisco 49ers, began protesting four years ago after a series of high-profile shootings of Black men by law enforcement officers, most of whom were white. Despite the glaringly obvious -- that America has a different set of standards for Black and brown people, with harmful and sometimes even deadly consequences -- Kaepernick was vilified."
Kaepernick famously started a trend that would soon be followed by football players and other athletes when he knelt during the national anthem in 2016, saying at the time, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." After leading the team to a 1-10 record in games, he opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers in 2017 and has not played professional football since then.