‘Refusing to meet Trump was an easy no’: Colin Kaepernick on being ‘blackballed’ for taking the knee, racism, and why he’s still ready to play

Ten years ago, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback refused to stand for the national anthem. He was accused of disrespecting the flag, the game, and America. In a rare interview, he talks about inspiring a global gesture of civil rights

Colin Kaepernick still gets up at 4.30am every morning to train. “Strength training, speed training, position training – still do all of the same type of workouts I did while I was playing,” he says cheerily. “And then go about the rest of my day.” It is almost 10 years since Kaepernick last played a game of top-flight football. His career was abruptly and cruelly cut short just as it was peaking, after the National Football League (NFL) effectively closed ranks and shut him out for being too political. Now, at 38 years old, he is well aware that his chances of a return are dwindling by the day, but he remains as game-ready as ever. “I stay relentless at it,” he continues in his easy drawl. “I look at it from the perspective of, ‘What are the things that I can control?’ And what I know I can control is being prepared for when opportunity knocks, and to also continue knocking, on my end, looking for ways and opportunities … just staying resilient and focused and disciplined – that is what’s gotten me to this point in my life.”

Kaepernick’s story is defined by the events of late 2016, when he repeatedly refused to stand for the pre-match national anthem – resulting in a chorus of booing on the pitch, insults and outrage off it, and exclusion from the sport he still loves. He was one of the biggest names in the game at the time; quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, a national celebrity, sponsored by major brands, and looking back, his actions fed into so much that has happened since: the rise of Donald Trump, the Black Lives Matter protests and a global reckoning with racism, then the backlash against what is now being called “Woke 1.0”, and the resurgence of a white nationalism that the US complacently assumed was in the past.

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