Colin Kaepernick has marked ten years since he first knelt during the US national anthem by reiterating his belief that the NFL is "actively blackballing" him, telling NBC News he now prefers watching college football over supporting a league he says continues to target him and fellow protesters. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback lost his NFL career after opting out of his contract in March 2017, with no team ever offering him a contract or even a workout, despite his earlier Super Bowl and NFC Championship appearances. The NFL has consistently denied colluding against him, but the dispute became one of American sport's most prominent controversies over athlete activism.

Kaepernick, who still holds the NFL single-game playoff rushing record for a quarterback, filed a collusion grievance against the league in October 2017, which he and former teammate Eric Reid settled in February 2019 for less than $10 million combined. He claims the Seattle Seahawks were the only team to meet with him, in 2017, and that coaches there raised his political views; he also says other coaches and general managers wanted to sign him but were "shut down" by senior figures. Details from his upcoming memoir, "The Perilous Fight," reveal further contacts, including with then-Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, while commissioner Roger Goodell has previously said individual clubs make their own signing decisions.