Kaepernick Reflects on Anthem Protest, Memoir, and NFL Future in TODAY Interview

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The former quarterback says he still avoids watching NFL games.

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Colin Kaepernick sat down with TODAY to discuss his new memoir, "The Perilous Fight," reflecting on the choices that led him to kneel during the national anthem while playing for the San Francisco 49ers. Describing his mindset at the time, Kaepernick said, "I had a sense of, 'Well, I have to do something... What action am I going to take to try to change this?'"

The former NFL quarterback also addressed why he no longer watches football, a habit that has continued since his last season in the league. He explained that returning to the field would require substantial change that he has not yet seen materialize, telling TODAY, "The scale and magnitude of change that needs to happen, largely hasn't."

Much of the conversation centered on the personal and professional fallout from his anthem protest, a moment that reshaped his career and became a flashpoint in national conversations about race and sports. Kaepernick used the interview to revisit that period through the lens of his memoir, offering his own account of the decision-making process behind it.

The interview gives Kaepernick a platform to detail, in his own words, the reasoning behind one of the more consequential protests in modern American sports, as he continues to promote "The Perilous Fight."

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Colin-Kaepernick-Explains-Anthem-Kneeling-Decision-Says-NFL-Return-Unlikely-20260916)._