As his protest grew in measure, with 49ers safety Eric Reid, former Nevada teammate Brandon Marshall and other players, including some 27 players on the Ravens and Jaguars, taking a knee, he

As his protest grew in measure, with 49ers safety Eric Reid, former Nevada teammate Brandon Marshall and other players, including some 27 players on the Ravens and Jaguars, taking a knee, he was villainized for his views, skewered as unpatriotic despite all his evidence to the contrary. Fans burned his jersey and spoke of boycotts. Donald Trump took a hardline stance against athletes' right to protest, declaring "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired!'"

Kaepernick was, indeed, forced to find a new line of work, effectively blackballed from the league despite the general consensus he was one of the more talented QB options with 72 career touchdowns and a handful of rushing records. Though his stance led to a slight moving of the chains within the league, officials agreeing to earmark $89 million in funds for players' community activism endeavors, not one owner was willing to take a chance on signing the former second round pick.

A 2017 grievance he filed, accusing the league and all 32 of its teams of colluding to keep him off the field, led to a confidential 2019 settlement that some thought would be a permanent benching. (Though, perhaps that could change with the league's fresh stance on his movement and their admission that "we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.")