Colin Kaepernick–now the $11 million per year backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers–will likely not see any action in tonight’s Monday Night Football nationally televised matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Yet he’ll surely receive attention for the position he takes during the national anthem by kneeling to protest police brutality against African-Americans.
In honor of his cause and courage, here are five reasons we love Colin Kaepernick:
1. He’s bucking the trend of apolitical athletes
Major team sports athletes have traditionally shied away from speaking out on behalf of causes, for legit reasons and otherwise. Sometimes they fear the distraction it can cause for their own performance and their teammates. (Gay athletes have even used that as a reason not to come out during their careers.) Kaepernick, who is no longer expected to lead a great team, has a little more freedom in this regard but still must tread carefully. The other reason is athletes fear pissing off half the population and losing sponsorships. When your salary is ten million plus per year, it’s not a huge risk but still one that few have been willing to take. Remember when Michael Jordan refused to condemn the toxic Jesse Helms?
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2. He’s supporting Black Lives Matters
The street protest group has not always received respect from the liberal establishment, which sees it as overly confrontational. Kaep’s stance is loosening that caution and also inspiring other big name athletes to follow suit. Even the 49ers owner, Jed York, opened his wallet to the tune of $1 million to help the cause. (Kaep is also tossing in his first $1 million in salary.)
3. He pals around with gay celebs
He was spotted hanging out with gay curcuit DJ Luis Perez (above), leading to rumors the two were dating. (Sorry boys: They were not.)
4. In his prime, he was actually a great quarterback
Trilling his San Francisco LGBTQ fan base, Kaep led the 49ers all the way to the SuperBowl in 2013, only losing to the Seattle Seahawks on the very last play.
5. He stripped for ESPN’s Body Issue
6. He pisses off the right-wing
Fox News hates him, the sign of righteousness for just about any cause.
Kim K Kute Kuchie
he’s simply awesome!
IDoNotHaveToAgreeWithYou
No we don’t. He’s a piece of shit. He ran around calling other players the N word until he hooked up with some BLM terrorist skank and now all of a sudden he’s Mr. Fake Black Power pushing the BLM terrorist agenda. He’s an all around pig. There is not right to be a thug.
Alistair Wiseman
Queerty shows their true Marxist colors.
Queerty supporting a radical, r a c i s t organization like BLM. Shocking, said no one.
SportGuy
Good guy
ErikO
He’s a posure and is r a c i s t the way all the black lies matter people are.
AlexM
“he’s actually a great quarterback” um…. no he’s not. goes to show how much queerty knows about sports. furthermore all these reasons are actually reasons to NOT like this dude.
Hussain-TheCanadian
@AlexM: As a Soc*alist Liberal, I approve this message.
This got flagged? seriously?
Hussain-TheCanadian
@Hussain-TheCanadian: This is meant for Alistair.
Alistair Wiseman
@Hussain-TheCanadian:
I believe it. I had two posts censored today by the fascist Queerty overlords. For the life of me, I could not figure out what the “trigger” words were that were so objectionable.
Queerty, is out of control, not to mention disrespectful, of their readers and those who (try) to post a comment. It’s pathetic.
Bauhaus
@Alistair Wiseman:
No loss having your turds flushed down the toilet. Good riddance.
monroerob69
Those are reasons why you like him? Time to find another site for my entertainment.
Baba Booey Fafa Fooey
Wrong. This is attention whoring at it’s finest. Does this site troll datalounge? It seems like the worst trolls there, write for this site.
Ukin Blome
@Alistair Wiseman: Really? No, your posts were flagged because they were offensive and violated the TOS. No matter how many user id’s you use your comments are still the same. If you don’t like the site you can go away. Most people skip over your comments without reading them because they are all the same.
Alistair Wiseman
@monroerob69:
But…but…Queerty says that one of the reasons that they love him is that he “pals around with gay celebs”!!!
Who? The “pals” (plural) is a gay circuit DJ celeb that no one has ever heard of. Gosh, I love him already!
Alistair Wiseman
@Ukin Blome:
“Most people skip over your comments without reading them….”
Apparently, not you. 🙂
Hussain-TheCanadian
@Ukin Blome: I would like to say that my post got censored for using the word: s o c i a l i s t
Kieran
Why doesn’t Colin just moon the audience during the anthem?
jeff1370
The ultimate patriot. He sees injustice, and does something about it. Unlike all the right-wing trolls on here.
OrchidIslander
On a somewhat related note, another current Queerty article is about Barbara Streisand and her take on Donald Trump and some of his followers.
She deems them to be “clowns.”
Don”t bother, they’re here….
Alistair Wiseman
Queerty, you forgot to mention that a couple of weeks ago Kaepernick said that Hillary belongs in prison.
“You have Hillary, who called black teens or black kids ‘Super-predators’…We have a presidential candidate who has deleted emails and done things illegally and is a presidential candidate. That doesn’t make sense to me. If that was any other person, they’d be in prison. So what is this country really standing for?”
Still “love” him?
jag4313
I’ve been to baseball games and have seen MANY people of all races, all ages, all genders NOT standing for the National Anthem. WHO FREAKING CARES?! I recently saw something on Facebook that a family of Middle Eastern decent were not standing during the National Anthem and it turned into a “Get out of our country” debate. People just need to chill and worry about the things that really matter in this world.
Mo Bro
Love it when the left labels itself “patriotic” for being so blatantly anti-American.
These are the same clowns who proudly wear T-shirts bearing the images of cop-killers and murderous dictators, and shrug it off when a domestic terrorist holds a fundraiser for a presidential candidate.
With “patriotism” like that, expect a Sharia-run government within a decade or two.
Kieran
Reason #7: He’s like Rosa Parks with balls and a penis.
Ukin Blome
@Hussain-TheCanadian: No, that wasn’t the reason your comment got deleted. You are not the poor innocent victim of the censors. You post personal attacks that cross the line. That’s why your comments get deleted.
everybodywinsyay
@Kieran: Rosa Parks faced job loss, prison, threats, attacks on her person in the moment not including other things – cross burnings, etc. He faces nothing. He is a bottom feeder, looking for his 15 minutes, about to be nobody.
Bauhaus
@Alistair Wiseman:
@Mo Bro:
Bootlicking traitors to our country! You both worship Putin, the thug.
AxelDC
I respect his right to protest, but he wears the uniform of an NFL franchise and represents his city. He makes $12 million a year playing for the 49ers. He should save his protests for his own time and not on his employer’s dime.
Everyone has the right to speak his mind, but not the right to do it while getting paid by someone else.
startenout
I am so glad that so many of the gay men below have found true equality in their ignorance and racism. LOVE Colin.
Kangol
@startenout: Me too!
cabe
I feel like it would have been okay to get political in the off-season but its disruptive during the season and he is being paid (a lot) to simply play football – not to be a politician.
jeff1370
@Mo Bro: Love it when the “right” spins what they say about us, when it’s really about them. believe it’s called a sociopath. Speaking of dictators, Putin might be our next presidential adviser…..
Goforit
@Mo Bro: Your comment is exactly what I believe to be the difference between the “left” and the “right” in this country. You and those that think like you, propose that our country is great and any criticism of anything that we as a nation have ever done is anti American or unpatriotic. That is BULL. You fail to understand that those of us on the “left” also think that the country is great. But not perfect. There is always room for improvement. So yes, I propose that we on the left are the more patriotic because we are able to admit our mistakes and strive to make our nation even greater.
Goforit
@AxelDC: Sorry but you are wrong. Kap does have the right to speak his mind “while being paid by someone else”. It does not mean that there will not be negative blowback but he does have the constitutional right to express his opinion where ever he pleases. By the way, if he had done this on “his own time”, none of us would be having this conversation.
Stilinski26
Who is he? Is he really popular in America that people are making a huge issue about what hes doing? Please enlighten us all Non- Americans here and posing naked is really one of the reason writers on this site loves him? LOL
He BGB
Actually, I softened up a little when I heard that he was adopted(?) by a couple as a young child. Don’t know if his parents died, were on drugs, or what but when I think of anyone, they were once a motherless little kid……
VampDC
DISGUSTING. Literally my last straw with Queety. It was a favorited website in my bookmarks for over a year that i checked daily.
THIS post which you CLEARLY wrote to egg people on…is the last straw.
Im deleting queety and NEVER coming back!!