"If only everyone had kneeled" - American filmmaker and Courtney Cox's ex-sister-in-law laments about not listening to Colin Kaepernick

In 2016, Colin Kaepernick, the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, began kneeling in protest of police brutality. He stated his reasoning, saying:

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

The decision to kneel was in part influenced by a conversation Kaepernick had with retired Green Beret Nate Boyer.

His protests largely fell on deaf ears and he may have lost his career as a result. Despite kneeling for years and inspiring those across the sports world, Megan Rapinoe, Mookie Betts, and Giancarlo Stanton, among others. The issue he was initially protesting has not been resolved.

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Actress/filmmaker believes Kaepernick was right all along

Rosanna Arquette is an actress and filmmaker. She is best known for roles in Pulp Fiction, After Hours and others, she spoke out on Twitter following a recent resurgence of police brutality.

There is no telling what might have happened if Kaepernick's initial protest had been well-received, but at least Arquette believes things would have been better.

That belief is not shared by just her and many NFL fans believe that, too. NFL players do as well.

Following the death of George Floyd after a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes, the protests were reignited.

NFL stars wanted to say something but didn't know how. They also wanted the league to join their protest and validate their struggles.

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They, with the help of a social media manager for the NFL, put together a video begging commissioner Roger Goodell to speak out and he obliged.

Several stars like Patrick Mahomes, Odell Beckham Jr. and more were a part of the video.

He responded to them, saying he should have listened to Kaepernick, a sentiment which Arquette echoes today:

“I wish we had listened earlier, Kaep, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to. We had invited him in several times to have the conversation, to have the dialogue. I wish we had the benefit of that, we never did. We would have benefited from that, absolutely.”

Kaepernick may not be in the league anymore, but his efforts are still being felt today.