Takeo Spikes wants Colin Kaepernick to be remembered forever. The former NFL linebacker talked to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole and said that Kaepernick needs to have a statue at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. Spikes wants people to recognize what the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback did during the 2016 season.
“I think Colin Kaepernick, Monte I truly believe that he deserves some type of monument, a statue in the Smithsonian in D.C,” Spikes said to Poole. “The reason why I say this is because this man put everything on the line. … You hear the term ‘You can become a slave to the money.’ But Colin, could have easily done that. But I applaud him simply because he decided to take a stand. He decided to draw a line in the sand and say look, ‘I can make the money, I can live a carefree life for the most part and get paid handsomely and never say a thing because I’m not affected.’ But he took time to look back and really just see the big picture, the spectrum when we talk about the inequalities.”
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In 2016, Kaepernick began sitting then kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial and social injustice. After the 2016 season, Kaepernick opted out of his contract and has been a free agent ever since. When Kaepernick started his protest, he took a lot of heat from NFL fans, but it also led to conversations about race. And during the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, Kaepernick’s protest was a hot topic.
“I think there’s more appreciation now with the sacrifice that he made in terms of raising his voice and the backlash that he absorbed as a result to that, and obviously losing his career in terms of not being able to come back to the National Football League, though I do believe he’s doing well-off financially — not that that takes away from what he aspired to in finishing his career, but it certainly makes the pillow a lot softer,” NFL reporter Josina Anderson said on the 49ers Talk podcast. Kaepernick played six seasons with the 49ers and started 58 games. He led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2012 and posted a 12-4 record as a starter in 2013.
