Kaepernick reveals the shooting that inspired his kneeling protest
The former NFL star talks about the shooting that prompted him to do something to raise awareness of racial injustice.
Tuesday 20 August 2019 21:32, UK
Three years after his first kneeling protest, former NFL star Colin Kaepernick has revealed the inspiration behind his activism.
Kaepernick's decision in 2016 to kneel during the national anthem in a protest against police brutality and racial injustice created controversy in the US.
A number of other players joined him as a national debate raged over whether such a demonstration was appropriate. President Donald Trump condemned the protest and criticised Kaepernick.
The protests were just part of the activism embraced by Kaepernick after the police shooting of Mario Woods in December 2015.
Mr Woods, 26, was involved in a confrontation with police officers in San Francisco. Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49ers at the time.
Mr Woods was the suspect in a stabbing but he died after being shot 20 times, having allegedly refused to obey police orders to drop his knife.
The death of Mr Woods came months before the kneeling protests but Kaepernick told online magazine Paper that it encouraged him to learn more about black self-determination.
In 2016, he and his girlfriend Nessa Diab launched youth-empowerment initiative Know Your Rights Camp.
It is aimed at black children aged between 12 and 18 and helps them learn the legal knowledge they need to navigate encounters with police officers which can all too often turn violent.
It also seeks to help them thrive in other areas, such as health, finance and education.
"This movement needs all types of people," Kaepernick told Paper.
"From athletes to healers to poets and artists to scholars and lawyers, we need everyone to contribute to the struggle. The struggle is affecting all of us. Period."
Kaepernick is about to begin his third consecutive autumn of NFL unemployment, having opted out of his contract following the 2016 season hoping for a better deal.
He sued the NFL, accusing them of colluding to keep him out of the league but the claim was settled out of court in February.
Speaking about his kneeling protests in 2016, he said: "How can you stand for the national anthem of a nation that preaches and propagates freedom and justice for all but is so unjust to so many of the people living there?
"This stand wasn't for me, it is because I'm seeing things happening to people that don't have a voice, people that don't have a platform to talk and have their voices heard and affect change."