It was August 14th, 2016, when then San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first

chose not to stand during the national anthem.

It was before an NFL preseason game.

After the third time he did it before a 49ers game against the Green Bay Packers, he explained

his actions this way.

I'll continue to sit, I'm going to continue to stand with the people that are being oppressed.

To me this is something that has to change and when there's significant change and I

feel like that flag represents what's supposed to represent and this country is representing

people the way that's supposed to, I'll stand.

This was Kaepernick's response to a number of cases that summer when unarmed black men

were shot and killed by police, including Philando Castile.

He continued to kneel before each game, his stance sparked a national debate.

A number of other NFL players joined Kaepernick in taking a knee.

Kaepernick was a star who'd previously led his team to the Super Bowl and no one else

to receive the kind of backlash that he did.

Within a year of speaking out about racial injustice in police brutality, he was no longer

playing for the NFL.

He opted out of his contract with the 49ers in 2017 and the debate became one focused

on how the NFL treated one of its stars.

I feel like you know Kaepernick should not be getting punished for doing the right thing.

Here's a gentleman that sacrificed his entire career ultimately for a cause bigger than

himself and he actually chose to do it in a peaceful way and this got him out of the

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