San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick emerged in the news a month and a half ago when he sat during the National Anthem of the team’s third preseason game. He had sat the first two games, but because he was not active, nobody noticed. Since then, Kaepernick has taken a knee for each game, and the movement he started this offseason has grown.
Of course, Kaepernick is not the first to use the National Anthem as a chance for protest. Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised a fist as they stood on the medal podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.