Colin Kaepernick Named GQ’s ‘Citizen of the Year’

Who said unemployment doesn’t have its perks? Despite being out of a job and achieving pariah status in the hearts and minds of most American sports fans, Colin Kaepernick is winning and scoring points somewhere.

That “somewhere,” is the front cover of GQ.

Gentleman’s Quarterly has named Colin Kaepernick their “Citizen of the Year,” for 2017. GQ described Kaepernick as the “man who became the movement.”

The magazine wrote, “Much has changed in the four years since Colin Kaepernick was last on the cover of GQ. Back then he was a rippling superhero of a quarterback on the rise.”

Yet now, according to GQ, Kaepernick has become something much more.

“But a simple act – kneeling during the national anthem – changed everything. It cost him his job. It also transformed Colin Kaepernick into a lightning rod and a powerful symbol of activism and resistance.”

Announcing GQ's Men (and Woman) of the Year 2017: @Kaepernick7, @StephenAtHome, @GalGadot, and @KDTrey5 https://t.co/5W5RMBKdku pic.twitter.com/LArjwrh3GX

— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) November 13, 2017

Kaepernick began his protest movement in the preseason 2016. He, at first, sat on the bench during the playing of the national anthem. then switched to kneeling on the advice of former Army Green Beret Nate Boyer.

Kaepernick played the rest of the 2016 season, but then became a free agent after walking away from his contract in San Francisco. Since then, Kaepernick has been unable to sign on with another team. Kaepernick believes that the NFL has conspired to keep him out of the league. Pursuant to that, the former 49er quarterback filed a grievance against the league in October, alleging collusion.

Ironically, Kaepernick’s “Citizen of the Year” award comes after the 2016 presidential elections, where we learned that Kaepernick not only declined to vote, he wasn’t even registered to vote. Citizens normally do those types of things.