"Pathological liar" - NFL fans blast Colin Kaepernick for throwing his adoptive parents under the bus

Even years after he last played a snap of pro football, Colin Kaepernick is still making news.

Recently, the former 49ers quarterback spoke to sociologist Eve Ewing, with whom he wrote the graphic novel Change the Game about his experiences as an orphan, and he had some not-so-rosy words to say:

"It is very difficult for people to have a nuanced conversation around it to be, like, yeah, the people that love you and that you love can also perpetuate very problematic elements, and those things can exist at the same time. And part of it is, like, how do you grapple with that? How do you navigate that? And especially at a young age? And it’s, like, are you equipped to navigate that and are your parents equipped to navigate that?"

But many people are unhappy with him:

A look back at Colin Kaepernick's NFL career and absence

It has now been seven years since Colin Kaepernick played a snap in the NFL. Originally drafted out of Nevada Reno in 2011, he initially studied under Alex Smith, until a concussion in the 2012 season thrust him into the starting role. He immediately established himself as a force to be reckoned with, leading the 49ers all the way to Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

To accommodate the now-burgeoning Kaepernick, who had shattered QB rushing records in that Super Bowl run, the 49ers traded Smith to Kansas City. He would never reach the Super Bowl again, however, and was soon dogged by various injuries.

During his final season in 2016, Kaepernick started kneeling while the national anthem was being played, in protest of racial injustice in the United States. He initially had been sitting, but upon the request of then-Seahawk Nate Boyer, changed it to kneeling. After that year, he opted out of his contract and became a free agent.

Since then, Kaepernick has failed to land a spot in an NFL team, which he attributes to being blacklisted for his actions. In October 2017, he filed a grievance againt the league, but it was settled in February 2019, the same month he mulled over a move to the XFL and AAF. Later in November, the NFL arranged a workout for him, but it did not come to pass. A May 2022 workout with the Raiders also yielded no results, as the team instead elected to keep Derek Carr.