Kaepernick tells 'The View' that NFL owners kept him out over politics and power, claims they donate to Trump
Former NFL Star Colin Kaepernick Accuses Trump Administration of Helping Blackball His Career
SAN DIEGO — Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and racial injustice, said in a Monday interview with the daytime talk show The View that the NFL’s decision not to sign him after he opted out of his contract was driven by politics and power.
Kaepernick, who is 37 years old, was a co‑host on the show with Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin. While discussing his new memoir, The Perilous Fight, Kaepernick accused the league of “actively blackballing” him and of supporting President Donald Trump’s administration.
“We’ve seen the NFL donate millions of dollars to President Trump and this administration,” he told the panel. “I think it was political. I also think it was power. I think the reality is that I did not protest the NFL. So their response to the protest says a lot about where they stand politically.”
Kaepernick said the protest that began in 2016 ultimately cost him a career in the league. He left the 49ers in March 2017 after the team’s franchise tag expired, and no other NFL team signed him. He sued the league for collusion, arguing that owners deliberately kept him off rosters; the lawsuit was settled in a confidential agreement.
“There's no game, there’s no business and things would change very quickly,” Kaepernick said. He added that if the league’s players had united in a one‑week strike, the entire season could have been halted.
Co‑host Ana Navarro prompted Kaepernick to elaborate on his feelings about the backlash he received after the kneeling protests. “Were you surprised about the level of backlash that you received?” she asked.
“Yes and no,” he replied. He said he expected a backlash but was shocked at the extent of the hate, including death threats from people who felt he was disrespecting the flag and the military.
Host Sunny Hostin echoed Kaepernick’s view that the league’s response was a political statement. “The NFL is about 70% Black. That means the players have power and control over where the league goes and where it heads directionally,” she said. Hostin noted that boycotts of the NFL had grown in response to the league’s perceived complicity.
Kaepernick also addressed the broader context of Black athletes protesting injustice. He cited historic examples such as Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Muhammad Ali, Curt Flood and Mahmoud Abdul‑Rauf, and said that the public’s reaction to the conversation “Hey, police shouldn’t kill Black people” was revealing. “I’m surprised at the level of pushback that people had on that,” he added.
In a separate interview earlier this month with NBC News, Kaepernick declared he would no longer support the NFL. “I’m not going to support an organization that is actively blackballing me, but also has targeted my brothers who have been protesting as part of this as well,” he told reporters. He added that he now watches college football instead.
Fox News Digital reached out to the NFL and the White House for comment on Kaepernick’s remarks, but neither organization has yet responded. The league has historically donated millions to Trump‑era campaigns, a fact that Kaepernick cited as evidence of a political alliance between the NFL and the administration.
As 2026 marks ten years since the kneeling protests began, Kaepernick’s latest statements underscore ongoing tensions between athletes, the NFL and national politics. Whether his criticisms will prompt a shift in league policy or public perception remains to be seen.