ICYMI: Colin Kaepernick teases new graphic novel chronicling his high school years
Colin Kaepernick continues to be one of the most polarizing figures in football. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback made waves during the 2016 season. He took a knee during the National Anthem to protest racial injustice, police brutality, and oppression. While many players followed his lead, it was Kaepernick who caught all the heat from the owners.
He became a free agent in 2017 and was never signed to a new contract. Even now, the quarterback continues to workout in the hopes of drawing the attention of an NFL franchise. For some time this offseason, it seemed as though the Seattle Seahawks were going to be the team to finally offer him a second chance, but that chance never matthe ownerszed.
In the meantime, the free agent has taken on a new role as a children’s book author. His book I Color Myself Different made the New York Times Bestsellers list and now he’s offered a new look at a graphic novel to be released early next year that will follow his story.
He released the following statement on Twitter regarding this:
"Honored to share that on 3/7/23 @KaepernickPub & @Scholastic will publish my graphic novel memoir, CHANGE THE GAME, abt my high school years. I'm hoping that my story may help to empower readers to better navigate the obstacles they may face."
The former quarterback founded his own publishing company, Kaepernick Publishing, and has teamed up with Scholastic to release the graphic novel Change the Game.
Written for readers 12 and up, the story follows the quarterback during his senior year in high school as he’s heavily scouted for baseball. Unfortunately, it’s a sport he isn’t excited about and he soon realizes college football looks like far more fun.
Kaepernick continues to pursue a spot on an NFL roster
As for the quarterback's attempts to get his NFL career back on track, it still doesn’t seem likely. That he may be more talented than some of the starters in the league doesn’t seem to make a difference.
This in part comes from the misconception that Kaepernick’s protest was disrespectful to U.S. troops. As the quarterback and others knelt during the national anthem, many Americans jumped to this conclusion and it was helped along by President Donald Trump, who had his own statement about the protest.
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b*tch off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired!'"
Recently, even Trump has reversed his stance and said that the quarterback should get another chance. Still, the former 49er remains unsigned and NFL franchises remain silently unmoved in their refusal to take a chance on him.