Colin's Character

As a society, we are so much more comfortable when people, places and things fit in their designated roles. Summer is supposed to be warm, winter is supposed to be cold. Rabbits are supposed to be fast, turtles are supposed to be slow. Boys are supposed to like sports, girls are supposed to like fashion. Cartoon heroes are supposed to be good looking and have good hair, cartoon villains are supposed to be scary looking and have horns or something. “Good guy” athletes are supposed to be clean cut and say all of the right things, “bad guy” athletes are supposed to be those with a lot of tattoos and big egos. Don’t ask, don’t question, that’s just how it is. Period. Except when it’s not.

Colin Kaepernick, the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers is a “bad guy athlete” straight out of central casting. He only speaks to the media when he absolutely has to, and even then he never says much. He is unwaveringly confident in his abilities as an elite NFL quarterback. He has tattoos covering his body. He parties, has dated multiple women, and likes to post pictures of himself, and his abs, on social media. I shudder at the thought of the horrible person he must be even typing these words. Except- he prefers to let his performance speak for him. His confidence is what helped him get to the NFL and helps make him an elite quarterback (one who has lead his team to two straight NFC Championship Games in as many seasons as starting QB). He is a man of Faith and his tattoos are an outward representation of that. He is a single, 26 year old man, who is living his personal life similarly to most other single, 26 year old men (key word being personal). Our collective disapproval of Kaepernick and his choices don’t make him a bad guy. In fact, if we took a closer look, I think we’d find that the exact opposite is true.

Now, please don’t get me wrong, there is plenty about Colin that I don’t like. His inability to read a progression, his habit of throwing fade route passes a couple yards too short and a couple feet too low (one, in particular, comes to mind immediately), his penchant for wearing the colors of other NFL teams. It’s all absolutely maddening. None of it, however, changes his work ethic, or his skills, or his character.

We don’t have to like Kap, or agree with his personal choices, or even root for him or his team, but we do owe him our respect. Let’s remember that before we gang up on him, or any other, assuming guilt in very serious accusations simply based on how we’ve typecast them. It would all fit so much more easily if CK7 were just another punk kid, but that simply doesn’t make it so.

C

P.S.- Go Niners!