Colin Kaepernick: The NFL Tried to Buy My Silence

Colin Kaepernick (0:02)

We need a black face to put out in front. And they tried that with the Players Coalition. That wasn't successful.

And Jay-Z was the 2 version of that, in my opinion. We're going to continue blackballing you, but will you be the face of our social justice initiatives? And they offered this to me as well as Eric Reid. And there was a nice price tag associated with that.

Trevor Noah (0:26)

I can imagine.

Colin Kaepernick (0:27)

I saw Jay-Z wear my jersey on SNL.

So I had tried to reach out to him previously, in part to say thank you at that point for the support. And wouldn't take a call, wouldn't take a meeting, which all good.

Trevor Noah (0:46)

Unstranged, but okay.

Colin Kaepernick (0:47)

Hey, I want to ask you, why weren't you staying for the Star Spangled Banner? And give him full explanation why I'm doing it. Systemic oppression, what black people have faced, what we're seeing right now, and police killing black people.

And I remember he was like, you know what comes with this, right?

Trevor Noah (1:20)

This is What Now with Trevor Noah.

SPEAKER_3 (1:30)

It makes you feel that kind of way, man.

Trevor Noah (1:31)

Makes you feel that kind of way. But Colin, thank you, man. Thanks for being here, brother.

Colin Kaepernick (1:34)

Oh, of course.

Trevor Noah (1:34)

This is crazy. I haven't seen you in such a long time.

SPEAKER_3 (1:38)

You see, now we're in it. I'm in it now.

Eugene Gu (1:41)

I'm in it.

SPEAKER_3 (1:44)

It's funny because we would never say of course. Never.

Eugene Gu (1:46)

Of course.

Trevor Noah (1:46)

South Africans, Africans would never say of course.

Eugene Gu (1:48)

Yeah, you said welcome and he was like, of course.

SPEAKER_4 (1:50)

Then I'm like, it's not of course. There's no guarantee that you would be here, man. This is a big deal for us, man. This is a big day for us.

Colin Kaepernick (1:58)

Of course I'm going to show up for you.

SPEAKER_3 (1:59)

Nah, man, I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_4 (2:01)

Nah, I appreciate it.

Colin Kaepernick (2:02)

I appreciate it, man.

Trevor Noah (2:03)

Nah, man, for real. This is like, you know, there are some things that happen in life. It's funny. So Tracy Ellis Ross was doing her first show on Broadway, like ever. Someone said to me, yo, Tracy's doing her first show on Broadway. I said, that's not possible. Can't be her first, can't be her debut on Broadway. It was. It was something I always assumed that had happened because of how natural it seemed to me.

Colin Kaepernick, writing a book about his life, I was like, wait, another one?

Eugene Gu (2:33)

That's exactly what I thought.

Trevor Noah (2:34)

No, genuinely. My brain went, I thought he wrote one.

And then I realized you're just somebody who's been in the public eye, scrutinized at a level that few human beings will ever experience in their lives, criticized, complimented, watched, observed, dissected, interpreted, misinterpreted. But I'm talking about on a global scale for a period of time that really most people will never truly understand. And it made me feel like I did read your life story. But now that you have written it, I'm like, oh, we don't know you.

Colin Kaepernick (3:14)

I would say it's fascinating for me because the number of conversations that I have with people that initially are like, oh, yeah, I know all about you. I know your story.

My reaction is like, you know, a small piece of it. Yeah, you know, the public piece of it. But even a lot of the public pieces that are out there, a lot of those are misinformation. A lot of those aren't factually accurate. So it's an interesting experience for me in talking with people because I feel like constantly I'm talking to people and they're getting a new version of me from what their perception was.

Eugene Gu (3:58)

Right, right, right, right, right.

Colin Kaepernick (3:59)

Which is like a, that feels like a unique experience.

Trevor Noah (4:02)

Is that, is that hard for you? Is it frustrating? How does it feel when people think they know about how you grew up? They think they knew what it was like for you being raised by white parents. They think they knew what it was like for you, you know, joining the NFL. They think they know what it was like for you, you know, almost getting into baseball, but they're not. They think they know what it was like playing at the 49ers. They think they know what it was like when you were kneeling for the anthem. They think they know what your romantic relationship has been like. They think they know. How does that make you feel about interacting with people when they all have a preconceived notion of you?