What happened in this episode?
Dax Shepard speaks with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick about his upbringing, identity, sport, and the origins of his national anthem protest. Kaepernick describes being adopted at five weeks old into a white family in Wisconsin, and says his parents had previously lost two children to congenital heart defects. He recalls formative experiences of racism as a child in California, including an incident he says left him uncertain his parents would understand or defend him if he disclosed what happened.
Kaepernick discusses how sport became a route to belonging and credibility, describing elite baseball prospects in high school and his choice to pursue American football, which he associates with greater community and representation. He criticises aspects of the NFL’s recruitment system, describing Combine medical and interview practices he says are degrading and, in some respects, racialised; he alleges he was not told about stress fractures identified during Combine examinations until months later.
On protest, Kaepernick says he began by sitting during the anthem to draw attention to police killings and broader systemic oppression, then shifted to kneeling after discussions with team-mate Eric Reid. He recounts meeting former Green Beret Nate Boyer, and disputes the idea that Boyer originated the kneeling approach, describing what he viewed as a “photo op”. Kaepernick also addresses the history of Black quarterbacks in the NFL, arguing that language used to describe players reflects enduring bias.
The conversation also touches on his later self-education, including reading Malcolm X, and how fatherhood has affected how he thinks about identity and resilience.
