Colin Kaepernick settled with the NFL after he sued them for ‘collusion’ when his NFL career took a turn after he began protesting in 2016. Many people at AIC not only feel like there is nothing wrong with his protest but they also feel that he should be playing in the NFL.

Colin Kaepernick began to kneel during the national anthem, in 2016, during his football games. Kaepernick played for the San Francisco 49ers, at the time, and thought this was a way he could bring awareness to social injustice in America.

He became a free agent at the start of the 2017 season but did not get signed by any NFL team. Now, Colin Kaepernick has finally settled with the National Football League (NFL) due to him suing the NFL saying he was blackballed by the NFL owners.

Kaepernick has been one of the most talked about NFL players for almost three years now and his way of protesting has sparked many debates and even caused some division in the country.

One side thinks what Kaepernick is doing is disrespectful to the troops and another side feels that he is justified and can protest how he pleases.

AIC alum and Fitness Center Supervisor, Allen Girouard, said “He should be able to do what he wants. Nothing vindictive about it.”

Well, the questions for the undisclosed settlement were, is he good enough to be in the NFL or did the owners really collude to keep him out?

According to NFL stats, Colin has thrown for over 12,000 yards and has thrown 72 touchdowns in his 6 seasons as a quarterback. He has also made more than 43 million over his six years with the San Francisco 49ers.

AIC sophomore wide receiver, Josh Simon, said “Yes, I believe he should be starting quarterback in the NFL, he is better than most of them.”

Colin Kaepernick also sparked other players in the NFL to kneel for protest. Eric Reid, Colin’s teammate from the 49ers, was beside Kaepernick. Unlike Kaepernick, Reid’s career continued and he finished out his 2017 contract with the team.

He eventually was signed to the Carolina Panthers for a one-year deal in late September and eventually signed a three-year contract extension for more than 22 million, according to CBS news.

Kaepernick has been the topic of many discussions, good and bad. He has always found a way to keep the conversation going, from giving speeches at colleges to appearing in one of the most talked about Nike ads and even having a “Know your Rights” campaign.

Whether people agree or not he has gotten conversations started about social injustices being done to African-Americans and people of color, in general.

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA)  has released a statement saying, “We continuously supported Colin and Eric from the start of their protests, participated with their lawyers throughout their legal proceedings and were prepared to participate in the upcoming trial in pursuit of both truth and justice for what we believe the NFL and its clubs did to them,” the NFLPA said. “We are glad that Eric has earned a job and a new contract, and we continue to hope that Colin gets his opportunity as well.”

The amount of the settlement has not been released.