Colin KaepernickBirth Chart

Colin Kaepernick is a former American football quarterback and civil rights activist, known both for his NFL career and for his part in national debates about racial injustice in the United States. Selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2011 draft, he became the starter in 2012 and guided the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance since 1994. Earlier he excelled in high school and at the University of Nevada, where he was twice named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

In 2016 he drew national attention by kneeling during the singing of the American national anthem before games in protest of police brutality and racial inequalities. The gesture polarized opinion, sparked a wave of protests, and became associated with the end of his time in the league; after 2016 he became a free agent and was not signed by other teams. In 2017 he filed a grievance against the NFL alleging a conspiracy to keep him out of the league, which was resolved in 2019 by a confidential settlement.

Since then, Kaepernick has devoted himself to activism and to initiatives focused on social justice, remaining publicly visible mainly for his role in debates over sports protests and racial inequality.