Colin Kaepernick has been selected by his former NFL coach and current Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh to serve as honorary captain for Michigan’s spring game.
Harbaugh and Kaepernick appeared together in a pic promoting the former 49er’s captaincy in which Kaepernick held a Michigan jersey bearing his name.
Harbaugh drafted Kaepernick in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft when he was head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Eventually, Kaepernick replaced incumbent starter Alex Smith and helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl in 2013. After that, however, the 49ers lost in the Super Bowl, and neither Kaepernick nor Harbaugh reached those heights again.
Then, in 2016, Kaepernick began the anthem protest movement that set off a national firestorm of controversy.
Harbaugh addressed Kaepernick’s activism in a recent podcast in which he said his former QB was on “the right side” of social justice issues.
“You got to listen to people and really hear what they’re saying,” Harbaugh said. “Colin’s been on the right side of this for a long time. I remember some very early conversations, when Colin decided to take a knee during the national anthem, and the person that’s first gets so much backlash.
“So, just for Colin, like ‘I love you, man.’ Then to listen to him explain (it).”
Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since the 2016 season.