Part I
We all have our opinions of Mr. Kaepernick. I assume most see him as an icon, a shining example of how those with celebrity should use it. Personally I don't quite come to the same conclusions as most in this matter. Think of me what you will, but I will preface the remainder of the article by saying that I am in no way a racist person. With that being said, let's get into it.
Colin was born in 1987 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Heidi Russo, who is white (Italian ancestry).His father was of African American ancestry but left his mother before he was born. Russo placed Colin up for adoption with a white couple named Rick and Teresa Kaepernick. At the age of four Colin and his family moved to California from Wisconsin. Kaepernick grew up in an upscale gated neighborhood. The High School that he attended was attended by mostly white students that held Colin in very high esteem. And why not, he was an all star selection in all three sports he played, Basketball, Baseball, and Football. He was basically a sports God in his town. He was drafted by the Cubs in the MLB draft as a pitcher, but Kaepernick was set on playing football. Which he did, holding out for the lone offer that came his way. A Football Scholarship to Nevada Reno. Consider this, as a Senior at UNR Kap threw for 3,022 yards, 21 passing touchdowns with 8 interceptions, 1,206 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns on the ground. He became the second quarterback after Tim Tebow to run and pass for twenty touchdowns in a season.
Fast forward to the NFL where the San Francisco 49ers drafted him in the second round with the fourth pick after making a trade with Denver to move up to that spot. That was 2011, and Kap ran five plays his rookie season. In week ten of the 2012 season he replaced Alex Smith who had to come out of the game with a concussion. Smith was cleared to play by the next game, but Coach Jim Harbaugh decided to keep him out to fully recover. Kaepernick started the rest of the season and San Fran finished the season 11-4-1, making the playoffs, and eventually the Super-Bowl against the Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans. The Niners lost to Harbaugh's brother's team, but Kaepernick was now famous. Once again he was the big man on Campus.
Kaepernicks Super-Bowl run was the highlight of his NFL Career. In June of the 2014 season he signed a 114 million dollar contract with 13 million of it fully guaranteed mone he got at signing date. Unfortunately he never again found that same magic that he was blessed with early on in his professional career. By the time the "taking a knee" event rolled around, Kap was more on his way out of the NFL, than in. For the first time since he was around 8-9 years old, Colin wasn't the big deal anymore. Wasn't the leader of the team at quarterback. Wasn't the one everyone and his brother wanted to talk to, or interview.
Coming into the 2016 season Kaepernick was coming off of his third shoulder surgery and still needed operations on his thumb and knee. Having lost weight, and muscle mass he competed for the starting job with Gabbert, the latter winning the job. In the third game of the 2016 season Colin Kaepernick made his statement by kneeling for the National Anthem. Infuriating much of the public and their opinions of Colin fell to an all-time low.
Part II coming next, The martyrdom begins
Comments