SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, opened up in a recent interview with Paper Magazine to discuss how the shooting of San Francisco native Mario Woods, led to his activism.
In an interview with Dr. Ameer Hasan Loggins and Dr. Christopher Petrella, the former quarterback talks about how the execution of Mario Woods is what sparked him to want make a change and protest systemic anti-Blackness and police terrorism.
Mario Woods was shot and killed at the age of 26 by the San Francisco police department after being suspected in a stabbing. The shooting was caught on video and released to the public.
An autopsy later confirmed Woods was shot 20 times by police officers.
The shooting led to the resignation of Police Chief Greg Suhr. After further investigation, the Internal Affairs Unit found that the five officers involved acted within policy.
Protests fled the Bay Area as citizens were outraged.
Kaepernick knew at that moment, it was time to put his social analysis into action.
In 2016 the quarterback began kneeling in NFL games, to protest against racial and social injustice.
Kaepernick’s girlfriend Nessa explained how the quarterback was passionate to make a change.
“During that time in his career if it wasn’t reviewing a playbook, he was reading a history book.”
Shortly after kneeling, Kaepernick started his Know Your Rights Camp, inspired by the Black Panther movement.
The quarterback hasn’t played in the NFL since parting ways with the San Francisco 49ers.