Colin Kaepernick is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. Kaepernick played college football for the University of Nevada in Reno, where he was named the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Offensive Player of the Year twice and became the only player in NCAA Division I FBS history to amass 10,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in a career. After graduating, he was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. May his quotes inspire you to take action so that you may live your dreams.
1. “People are dying in vain because this country isn’t holding their end of the bargain up as far as, you know, giving freedom and justice and liberty to everybody.” Colin Kaepernick
2. “How can you stand for the national anthem of a nation that preaches and propagates freedom and justice for all, that’s so unjust to the people living there.” Colin Kaepernick
3. “With or without the NFL’s platform, I will continue to work for the people because my platform is the people.” Colin Kaepernick
4. “It’s a touchy subject, ’cause I never want to take it there, where it seems like it’s all about race. But I feel like that’s something that comes along with the territory of being a black quarterback. When you have success – Oh, you’re a freak athlete. Not, Oh, you’re a good quarterback.” Colin Kaepernick
5. “There’s a social responsibility that we have to be educated on these things, to talk about these things.” Colin Kaepernick
6. “If we have these real conversations that aren’t comfortable for a lot of people, there’s a better understanding of where both sides are coming from. And if we reach common ground and can understand what everybody is going through, we can really affect change and make sure that everybody is treated equally and has the same freedoms.” Colin Kaepernick
7. “We have a lot of people that are oppressed. We have a lot of people that aren’t treated equally, aren’t given equal opportunities. Police brutality is a huge thing that needs to be addressed. There are a lot of issues that need to be talked about, need to be brought to life, and we need to fix those.” Colin Kaepernick
8. “History has proven that there has never been a period in the history of America that anti-blackness has not been an ever-present terror.” Colin Kaepernick
9. “People sometimes forget that love is at the root of our resistance.” Colin Kaepernick
10. “It’s the people’s unbroken love for themselves that motivates me even when faced with dehumanizing norms of a system that leads to the loss of life over simply being black.” Colin Kaepernick
11. “This is for people that don’t have the voice, and this is for people that are being oppressed and need to have equal opportunities to be successful.” Colin Kaepernick
12. “You’re going to hurt, yes. You’re going to have tweaks and problems. But you’re a football player; you can play through those.” Colin Kaepernick
13. “I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harm’s way for my freedom of speech and my freedoms in this country, and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee, so I have the utmost respect for them, and I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way.” Colin Kaepernick
14. “Racialized oppression and dehumanization are evolving into the very fabric of our nation.” Colin Kaepernick
15. “There’s police brutality. People of color have been targeted by police. That’s something that this country has to change.” Colin Kaepernick
16. “There is a lot that needs to change, one specifically is police brutality.” Colin Kaepernick
17. “Mental health, for me, is doing everything I can to help this team win. Sitting around not doing anything isn’t something I’ve been too big on since I was young.” Colin Kaepernick
18. “You have to take care of the ball to win football games.” Colin Kaepernick
19. “Sometimes, when things are going really well, I feel like I’ve already seen things – it’s the flashback feeling in a good way. Like I’m watching a rerun because I’ve studied this defense and know what comes next. Now, that is a good feeling, when your mind is working fast because you’ve studied, and you realize, I’ve seen this before.” Colin Kaepernick
20. “You have to train hard and be strong while staying flexible and limber, so I’m trying to find that balance.” Colin Kaepernick
21. “Most people don’t want to change. They’re comfortable and set in their ways. But in order to change, you have to be able to agitate people at times. And I think that’s something that’s very necessary for us to improve as a country.” Colin Kaepernick
22. “I never weighed myself when I was at my lightest because I didn’t want to know.” Colin Kaepernick
23. “In the heat of the battle, it’s always different than when you go back and look at it on film.” Colin Kaepernick
24. “A lot of them have families to feed, and I think it’s a tragic situation where players aren’t comfortable speaking what’s on their mind or what’s right because they’re afraid of consequences that come along with it. That’s not an ideal environment for anybody.” Colin Kaepernick
25. “Seeking the truth, finding the truth, telling the truth and living the truth has been and will always be what guides my actions.” Colin Kaepernick
26. “I have great respect for the religion. I know a lot of people that are Muslim and are phenomenal people.” Colin Kaepernick
27. “Nobody cares if you’re black, white, straight, gay, Christian, Jewish, whatever it may be. When you step on that field, you’re a member, in my case, the 49ers. That’s your job, your occupation.” Colin Kaepernick
28. “I don’t believe in pressure. The pressure is not being prepared for what you want to do.” Colin Kaepernick
29. “If you work hard and perform well, it doesn’t matter whether you’re 20 or 40. People are going to follow, and you can go in there and run the show.” Colin Kaepernick
30. “I’ll never take the easy way out.” Colin Kaepernick
31. “People don’t realize what’s really going on in this country. There are a lot of things that are going on that are unjust. People aren’t being held accountable for. And that’s something that needs to change. That’s something that this country stands for: freedom, liberty, and justice for all.” Colin Kaepernick
32. “I have great respect for people’s right to believe what they want to believe. And I don’t think anybody should be prosecuted or judged based on what their beliefs are.” Colin Kaepernick
33. “People can talk all they want; that doesn’t affect how I go about my business.” Colin Kaepernick
34. “I can’t look in the mirror and see other people dying in the street that should have the same opportunities that I’ve had and say I can live with myself because I can’t if I just watch.” Colin Kaepernick
