Colin Kaepernick Says He Still Trains to Quarterback an NFL Team to a Super Bowl

In a rare interview, former NFL quarterback and American activist Colin Kaepernick said he still trains to play in the NFL. 

"I am still up at 5 a.m. training five, six days a week making sure I’m prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again," he told Ebony. "That’s not something I will ever let go of, regardless of the actions of 32 teams and their partners to deny me employment. The same way I was persistent in high school is the same way I’m gonna be persistent here."

Kaepernick did the interview while promoting his new Netflix series, Colin in Black & White, a six-episode scripted series that chronicles his high school years. The latest trailer dropped Tuesday and the series will focus on Kaepernick's struggles with identity, culture and football as a Black boy adopted and raised by white parents in California. 

Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance in 2013, is mostly known for protesting police brutality and racial inequality by taking a knee during the national anthem before games while with San Francisco. His peaceful protest caused nationwide debate and many speculated it's why he never played in the NFL again after entering 2017 free agency. 

He later filed a grievance with the NFL and accused league owners of collusion to blackball him. The NFL and Kaepernick eventually reached a confidential settlement.

Despite not getting a regular season snap since 2016, the 33-year-old still feels he's able to quarterback a team to the mountain top and says the NFL will have to give him a good reason why he can't play anymore. 

"You’re gonna have to continue to deny me and do so in a public way," he told Ebony. "And you’re gonna expose yourself by that, but it won’t be because I’m not ready or not prepared. But in that process, I’m also not gonna let you bury my future."