Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since 2016, and he claims he was blackballed by the league after taking a knee during the national anthem in protest against police brutality and racial inequality. His decision to protest was hailed by some as a way to highlight police deaths and oppression of black people, while others villainized him, burned his jersey, and sent death threats. In August 2016, Donald Trump told Kaepernick to find a country that works better for him after his protest.
Kaepernick initially announced his plans to write the memoir in 2020. He is narrating the audio edition, which will be produced and sold exclusively by Audible. Kaepernick played six years for the San Francisco 49ers and helped lead them to a Super Bowl appearance in 2013, which Baltimore won 34-31.
People saw the moment. But they didn't see the years that made it possible: the questions about who I was; the injustices I could no longer ignore; the voices of those who came before me that I carried into that stadium.
Since leaving the NFL, he has spoken out often on social issues, launched his own publishing imprint, and co-written the picture story 'We Are Free, You & Me' and the graphic novel 'Change the Game'. It remains unclear why Kaepernick has not been signed by an NFL team since 2016 despite multiple tryouts, or how the memoir's release might impact public perception or his future career prospects. The specific content and revelations expected in the memoir beyond the general themes described have not been detailed.
That journey, from a Black kid navigating an identity the world didn't always make space for, to an athlete who realized the game was bigger than football, shaped everything. When I took a knee, it wasn't a sudden act.