Kyle Shanahan Drops Truth Bombs About How NFL Talks About Colin Kaepernick Now Versus 2016

We have seen protests in all 50 states in reaction to the wrongful killing of black Americans by police, and San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has some thoughts about how the movement has evolved in the last few years. Most importantly, he thinks white people care more about racial justice then they did just a few years ago, and that we ought to look no further than the case of former Niner Colin Kaepernick.

Shanahan's reasoning makes sense, because we have seen plenty of coaches and front office members in the NFL be quick to praise former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick either directly or via the values he stands for despite effectively blackballing him from the league. Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem at games to protest racism and police brutality, and the former franchise QB hasn't played in the NFL since 2016.

"[T]hat’s our ignorance. And that’s what upsets black people, and they have every right to be upset because they haven’t just been telling us this the last few weeks," Shanahan said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. "They’ve been telling us this since our grandparents. And I’ve been hearing it from every one of my friends since I was 14.”

Drew Brees' recent ignorant comments about Kap's protest show that there's clearly a lot more work to be done, but we ought to appreciate Shanahan's acknowledgement of his own privilege and failure to grasp the tragedy of racial injustice for so long. So many could have taken Kaepernick's actions in better faith starting in 2016, but it's a good sign that Shanahan, who took over as 49ers head coach the next year, is starting to grasp the gravity of the cause.

Plenty of other players, coaches, and teams have spoken out against police brutality and racism over the past week, and many of those same types were openly opposed to Kaepernick's peaceful protests while they occurred. We are beyond frustrated to see coaches like the Seattle Seahawks' Pete Carroll using Kap's name to sound woke when his team wouldn't even give the QB a workout.

The entire NFL owes Kaepernick a huge apology and a lot more respect, but we're glad that Shanahan has the decency and humility to admit that he was wrong and is working to be better.