Episode

Colin Kaepernick is still fighting – for justice and for his football career

Podcast
Fresh Air
Published
Sep 14, 2026
Duration seconds
2745
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://www.npr.org/2026/09/14/nx-s1-5968623/colin-kaepernick-is-still-fighting-for-justice-and-for-his-football-career
Audio
https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-381444908/npr.simplecastaudio.com/49850946-31c1-4953-8129-0d718420c400/episodes/1983ef63-4fdd-44bb-8a0a-c32f505ead55/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=49850946-31c1-4953-8129-0d718420c400&awEpisodeId=1983ef63-4fdd-44bb-8a0a-c32f505ead55&feed=jBsBZBHh&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5968623&p=381444908&d=2745&size=43932194
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/fresh-air-214340/episodes/colin-kaepernick-is-still-fighting-for-justice-and-for-his-football-career
Markdown
/podcast/fresh-air-214340/colin-kaepernick-is-still-fighting-for-justice-and-for-his-football-career.md

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Summary

It has been 10 years since former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, in protest of police brutality against Black people. Once the season ended, Kaepernick never played in the NFL again. "The NFL tried to send a very clear message that if you protest police killing Black folks, if you fight for a better society and better community, we're going to try to take your career from you," he tells Tonya Mosley. "I don't accept that that is going to be the end outcome of this, and will do everything I can to make sure that I change that narrative." Kaepernick has written a memoir called The Perilous Fight . It begins long before the anthem, with his experience as a Black boy adopted by white parents, learning to keep early experiences of racism to himself. He explains why, after all this time, he still wants to play in the NFL, and why he would keep his kids from playing the game. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our YouTube channel Check out the Fresh Air Archives See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy