Background
Who is Colin Kaepernick?
Born on November 3, 1987, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Colin Kaepernick was born to a single, 19 year old mother, Heidi Russo. Being a single mother, Russo decided that it would be best for her son to be adopted into another family that could give him the best life possible. Soon after making this decision, Russo placed Colin up for adoption where Rick and Teresa Kaepernick welcomed Colin into their family.
Kaepernick faced many struggles as a young child due to the fact that he was a biracial child being raised by white parents. It was said that Colin’s friends in school would point out that it was “impossible for the Kaepernick to be his parents” (Biography.com, 4). Kaepernick’s parents helped Colin through each new obstacle, always being transparent about the fact that he was adopted, and ensuring that Kaepernick knew that his skin color was different but did not affect the love they had for him, or his membership in their family.
Kaepernick’s start in football began at a young age. At the age of 8, Kaepernick played on a football team for the first time and quickly fell in love with the sport. Kaepernick played football throughout his school career, but was never recruited by a major college team due to his “big arm” and “razor thin frame”(Biography.com, 8). At the beginning of his freshman year of college, Kaepernick tried out for the football team at the University of Nevada, Reno where he eventually secured a starting position for the team. After four years of breaking records at the University of Nevada, Kaepernick was drafted in the NFL by the San Francisco 49ers, for whom he quickly took the position of quarterback for after the leading quarterback was forced to set out for injury. Later in his career, Kaepernick suffered a shoulder injury which forced him to take a seat on the sidelines. With this seat on the sidelines, Kaepernick began to realize some controversial issues in the United States that had affected not only his life, but the lives of thousands of others.
On August 26, 2016, Colin Kaepernick, quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, decided that it was time to take a stand for his beliefs of racial oppression in the United States by refusing to stand for the national anthem in a preseason football game. Kaepernick’s protest has been quickly spreading throughout the United States with people of all ages refusing to stand. Since then, media sources around the world have been eagerly reporting the latest surrounding the controversy.
Image courtesy of Http://www.facebook.com/CBSSanFrancisco. “Kaepernick Validates Harbaugh's Risk With Trip To Super Bowl.” CBS San Francisco, sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/01/20/kaepernick-validates-harbaughs-risk-with-trip-to-super-bowl/.
This season, Kaepernick began as the 49ers second string quarterback behind Blaine Gabbert. Once a Super Bowl starter, Kaepernick and the 49ers struggled last season, leading to his demotion. After a 1-4 start to the 2016 season, Kaepernick was given another opportunity to start. Here are some of his highlights from a recent game this season against the New Orleans Saints.
Image courtesy of “Colin Kaepernick: Family.” Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/KaepernickFan/colin-kaepernick-family/.