Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose decision to protest during the national anthem turned him into one of the most polarizing figures in American sports, has been named the Muhammad Ali Center’s Humanitarian of the Year.
The organization announced Tuesday that Kaepernick will receive the award during a ceremony in Louisville on November 7.
According to Reuters, the Muhammad Ali Center selected Kaepernick for “his advocacy against racial injustice and for efforts to support underserved communities through his Know Your Rights Camp and other philanthropic initiatives.”
Former NFL quarterback and original anthem protester Colin Kaepernick, took to Twitter on Wednesday to call modern policing a “white supremacist institution” that needs to be “abolished.” https://t.co/yR2qfLiJEA
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) September 24, 2020
Lonnie Ali, the wife of the late heavyweight boxing champion and co-founder, president, and chief executive of the Muhammad Ali Center, praised Kaepernick’s willingness to pursue his activism despite the consequences.
“Colin has used his platform to advocate for equality, human dignity, and social change, even when doing so came at significant personal and professional cost,” Ali said.
Kaepernick’s activism became a national controversy during the 2016 NFL preseason when he began protesting during the playing of the national anthem. His decision to kneel during the anthem quickly spread beyond the San Francisco 49ers and became the subject of an intense national argument over race, policing, patriotism, and protest.
The quarterback’s actions away from the anthem generated controversy as well. Kaepernick wore socks during team practices that depicted police officers as pigs. He also appeared in a T-shirt featuring former Cuban communist dictator Fidel Castro, prompting additional criticism.
His NFL career effectively ended after the 2016 season.
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— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) April 21, 2025
Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers and became a free agent. No other NFL team subsequently signed him, despite his efforts over the following years to return to the league.
In October 2017, Kaepernick filed a grievance accusing NFL owners of colluding to prevent him from securing another roster spot because of his anthem protests. The dispute continued until 2019, when Kaepernick and the NFL reached a confidential settlement.
His hoped-for return to professional football never materialized.
Instead, Kaepernick built a second career centered on activism, media projects, business partnerships, and philanthropy. One of the central organizations associated with that work has been his Know Your Rights Camp, which focuses on education and resources for Black and Brown communities.
The Muhammad Ali Center’s decision places Kaepernick alongside the legacy of another athlete whose political and social views became inseparable from his public identity. Ali famously faced enormous professional consequences after refusing induction into the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. He was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his heavyweight title, and prevented from boxing during several years of his athletic prime. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually overturned his conviction in 1971.
