Power Players with Brian Sozzi Colin Kaepernick exposes the truth behind his NFL blacklist
Sep 17, 2026
Colin Kaepernick, former NFL quarterback, civil rights activist, author, and entrepreneur, discusses the forces behind his NFL fallout and his path from trauma to activism. He revisits his national anthem protest, alleged political barriers to a tryout, FBI-linked threats, and his continued football training. He also explores Know Your Rights Camp, mission-driven businesses, literacy, AI, and the future of social change.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
A Childhood Attack Built Kaepernick’s Resilience
- At eight, friends tied Colin Kaepernick to a rose tree, turning trauma into resilience and greater awareness.
- His parents’ moral foundation helped him recognize racism as fundamentally wrong, even before he understood its broader context.
Why Kaepernick Needed Black Role Models
- Adoption into an all-white Wisconsin family gave Colin Kaepernick strong ethics but no guide to navigating Black identity.
- He found cultural role models in Allen Iverson, Randy Moss, and Ken Griffey Jr., who remained unapologetically themselves.
The Protest Began With Moral Reckoning
- Kaepernick’s protest emerged from years of study, personal ethics, and witnessing police killings—not from a preplanned activist strategy.
- Eric Reid later proposed kneeling, turning Kaepernick’s individual objection into a broader movement.
