In an interview with NBC News, Kaepernick criticized NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell over a video he released in 2020 amid nationwide protests following George Floyd’s death."His response through that video was only because of pressure from players, not because it was altruistic," Kaepernick said.COLIN KAEPERNICK TO RECEIVE MUHAMMAD ALI AWARD FOR FIGHTING 'RACIAL INJUSTICE'In the video, Goodell said the NFL condemned "racism and the systematic oppression of Black people.""[Goodell’s message was] so laughable, in my mind, and so disingenuous," Kaepernick continued."We had been trying to address the issue that the NFL created with blackballing me for years.
To come out and say we should have listened on the back of that — while I’m still actively trying to play in the NFL — it’s so performative."Colin Kaepernick speaks onstage during The Gordon Parks Foundation Awards Dinner and Auction 2026 at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 19, 2026, in New York City.(Getty Images for The Gordon Parks Foundation)Kaepernick is right.The NFL’s social justice campaigns and messaging are performative.
Painting "End Racism" in the end zones and approving "Black Lives Matter" on helmets were ways for the league to signal its virtue.They were public-relations decisions, perhaps even financial ones, designed to avoid potential backlash from sponsors and consumers.ABDUL EL-SAYED DODGES 'RACIST NFL' CLAIM, CONTINUES DEFENDING COLIN KAEPERNICKThe fact that Goodell, or anyone else, felt obligated to announce that the NFL does not support racism and the systematic oppression of black people perfectly exemplifies the term "performative."That said, Kaepernick is not the one to lecture anyone about fraudulent behavior.Colin Kaepernick, No.
7 of the San Francisco 49ers kneels for the national anthem before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi's Stadium on Oct.23, 2016, in Santa Clara, Calif.
(Getty Images)The former quarterback has spent the past decade performing, pandering,...