Ten years ago, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat and then knelt during the national anthem ahead of a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, igniting a cultural flashpoint that forever altered professional football, athlete activism, and the National Football League.
The gesture, executed quietly on August 26, 2016, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, transformed the backup signal-caller into one of the most polarizing figures in modern sports. What began as a silent protest against racial inequality and police brutality quickly evolved into a national debate involving team owners, fans, civil rights groups, and the highest levels of American politics.
The 2016 Preseason Catalyst
During the third preseason game of the 2016 NFL season, Kaepernick remained seated on the bench while the “Star-Spangled Banner” played before kickoff. Initially, the action went largely unnoticed by broadcasters, but sharp-eyed reporters spotted the quarterback during subsequent media availability. Kaepernick addressed the media directly after the game, explaining his motivation to reporters.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told gathered media members in the postgame locker room. “To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Following a discussion with former Green Bay Packers tight end and military veteran Nate Boyer, Kaepernick adjusted his form. Rather than sitting, he chose to take a knee during the anthem, a posture intended to show respect for military personnel while maintaining his silent protest against social injustice.
League Fallout and the End of a Career
The protests spread rapidly across the NFL. Throughout the 2016 and 2017 seasons, dozens of players knelt, raised fists, or stayed in locker rooms during the pre-game ceremonies, drawing fierce criticism from conservative commentators, league executives, and then-President Donald Trump, who publicly urged owners to fire players who participated.
Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers in March 2017, becoming an unrestricted free agent. Despite having led San Francisco to a Super Bowl appearance just four years earlier, he remained unsigned throughout the 2017 offseason and subsequent campaigns. Statistical models and analyst evaluations consistently pointed out that quarterbacks with inferior performance metrics continued to secure roster spots, fueling widespread accusations of collusion.
In October 2017, Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL and its 32 owners under the collective bargaining agreement, alleging that management conspired to keep him out of the league because of his political stance. The parties reached a confidential financial settlement in February 2019, though the terms and the exact payout figures were never publicly disclosed.
The Shift in Corporate and Cultural Standing
While NFL executives distanced themselves from the quarterback during his prime playing years, mainstream cultural perception shifted markedly over the subsequent decade. In 2018, sportswear giant Nike signed Kaepernick to a prominent global ad campaign featuring the tagline: “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
The league itself gradually altered its public posture. Following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and subsequent nationwide racial justice protests, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a video acknowledging that the league made mistakes in not listening to players earlier and encouraging peaceful demonstrations.
“We, the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people,” Goodell said in a statement released in June 2020. “We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”
Legacy Across Professional Sports
A decade after that initial preseason contest, Kaepernick’s impact extends far beyond football fields. Athlete activism across the Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Soccer, international soccer, and collegiate sports became commonplace, with governing bodies largely dropping prohibitions against on-field demonstrations.
Kaepernick has continued his advocacy work through the Know Your Rights Camp, an organization he founded in 2016 to advance the liberation and well-being of black and brown communities. Although he never returned to an NFL roster—despite a public workout arranged by the league in Atlanta in November 2019 that dissolved into a dispute over location and media access—his gesture remains one of the defining moments in the history of American sports culture.
