Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protest of racial injustice became a US controversy
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protest of racial injustice became a US controversy

Colin Kapernick has not seen action in the NFL since 2017, he remains hopeful that he could continue his pro football career.

The 33-year-old revealed in an interview with Ebony that he continues to keep himself in shape--with the hopes of hoisting the Lombardi trophy over his shoulders someday.

"I am still up at 5 AM. training five, six days a week, making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again," he shared.

Kaepernick’s last taste of NFL football was in January 2017 when he was still with the San Francisco 49ers.

But after the Niners took in Kyle Shanahan to call the shots, it was clear that the Wisconsin native would not be part of the team moving forward.

The saga of Kaepernick dates back to the time when he knelt during the national anthem at the start of NFL games as part of his protest against police brutality and racial inequality in the United States.

That move led to others doing the same and was seen as something that placed his NFL career in limbo.

He and other players felt that he is being held down because of the gesture.

However, NFL insider Matt Maiocco would prefer to look at it as a scenario wherein Kaepernick fell down the ranks of quarterbacks that teams could use since 2017.

“I don’t know exactly what the definition of blackball is. If you are saying that teams communicated with each other and said we won’t sign him if you don’t sign him. I don’t think that happened,” Maiocco stated when he appeared on the Sports For All PH podcast hosted by Filipino journalists Vincent Juico and Brian Yalung.

“I think he always felt that I’ll go somewhere and compete. I don’t know if he was blackballed. But it’s pretty clear that a lot of football teams that could have used him at the very least as a backup decided they didn’t want him."

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protest of racial injustice became a US controversy

Photo: GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Carmen Mandato