Joe McConnell
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick believes he could help a franchise win a championship if he returned to the game despite an eight-year absence.
Kaepernick spent six years with the San Francisco 49ers, helping them reach their first Super Bowl since 1994 during the 2012 season, but has not competed in the NFL since 2016.
“We’re still training, we’re still pushing,” Kaepernick he told Vscek News. “So, hopefully. We just have to get one of these team owners to open up.
“It’s something I’ve trained for my whole life, so to be able to get back on the court, I think that would be a huge moment, a huge milestone for me. I think I could give a lot to a team and help them win a championship.”
Kaepernick spent six years with the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL
In August 2016, during his final season with the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem before NFL games to protest racial injustice and police brutality.
The act of “taking a knee” made headlines around the world and still happens today in sports around the world, including before some matches during the Premier League and WSL seasons.
At the time, two days after pledging to donate $1 million to community organizations, Kaepernick said: “The message is that there are a lot of issues in this country that we need to address.
Kaepernick has begun kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and police brutality
“We have a lot of people who are oppressed. We have a lot of people who are not treated equally, who are not given equal opportunities,” Kaepernick said, speaking at Nike’s “Art of Victory” exhibition in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou at the Olympic Games.
Kaepernick said he would continue to kneel “until justice is served.” Protests spread across the NFL in September 2016, and during the first week of the season, 11 players from the West Coast to the East Coast protested.
The NWSL has also begun taking a knee: World Cup-winning soccer player Megan Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem in September 2016, saying, “We need to have a more thoughtful, two-way dialogue about racial issues in this country.”
Then-US President Barack Obama also spoke out about Kaepernick’s actions, saying, “He’s exercising his constitutional right to make a statement. I think there are a lot of ways to do that when it comes to the flag and the national anthem.”
Could Kaepernick ever compete in the Olympics?
The NFL reports that more than 20 million people currently play flag football in 100 countries, with the five-on-five version of American football a non-contact sport played by people of all ages.
The next Olympics will be held in Los Angeles in 2028, and flag football is one of the sports that will be introduced for the first time, a sport that Kaepernick would very much like to participate in.
Kaepernick Would Love to Be a Part of LA2028 with Flag Football
“We’re hoping to be out there,” he said. “We’re working on some things, to see if we can do it. I’d love to be out there.”
At the Paris Olympics, Kaepernick watched the U.S. come back from a 13-point deficit against Serbia in the men’s basketball semifinal and said it was “a phenomenal game to be able to watch.”
The United States won its fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal on Saturday in a thrilling game against hosts France, whom they beat 98-87, with LeBron James scoring 14 points to win his fourth Olympic medal and third gold.
Steph Curry led the way in the victory, scoring 24 points, while Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, the first four-time gold medalist in Olympic basketball history, each scored 15.
The United States won its fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in a thrilling match against hosts France in Paris, with Steph Curry showing his power
“I hope that they [Team USA] continue to build on their legacy, but we have some of the all-time greats on this team,” he said. “There are a lot of players who are more in the later stages of their careers, but who are also playing at levels that we just haven’t seen players reach at their age.
“When you see competitors who have competed their entire careers, team up and play together, you can see the dynamic of LeBron, Steph, KD [Kevin Durant]Joel [Embiid]Taytum, D Booker, they have the full team on the court.
“They’re all All-Stars and for me it’s like putting together a team, like, these are the five that are there at any given time. I don’t want to be the one making that decision because everyone is so talented.”
Kaepernick was in Paris to run the Marathon for All 10K in partnership with Nike, alongside Olympic champions Caster Semenya and Mo Farah. The event allowed amateurs to run the Olympic marathon course the night between the men’s and women’s races.
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