Former NFL Star Takeo Spikes Says Colin Kaepernick Deserves Statue in the Smithsonian

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."

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.