Nobody cares if you're black, white, straight, gay, Christian, Jewish, whatever it may be. When you step on that field, you're a member, in my case, the 49ers. That's your job, your occupation.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes unity and equality in the context of sports, irrespective of personal backgrounds.
Colin Kaepernick's quote highlights the idea that once individuals are on the field, their identities, backgrounds, and personal beliefs become secondary to their role as teammates. It promotes a sense of belonging and collective responsibility, suggesting that success in sports, and perhaps in life, hinges on mutual respect and teamwork beyond societal divisions.
In practice
During a team-building workshop to promote inclusivity in the workplace.
A lot of them have families to feed, and I think it's a tragic situation where players aren't comfortable speaking what's on their mind or what's right because they're afraid of consequences that come along with it. That's not an ideal environment for anybody.
I think that's something that's hard for this country to address, is what the real issues are and coming to the point where we can admit that these are issues. Once we admit that, we can deal with it, we can fix them, and we can make this country and these communities a better place.
Its a touchy subject, 'cause I never want to take it there, where it seems like it's all about race. But I feel like that's something that comes along with the territory of being a black quarterback. When you have success - 'Oh, you're a freak athlete.' Not, 'Oh, you're a good quarterback.'
Most people don't want to change. They're comfortable and set in their ways. But in order to change, you have to be able to agitate people at times. And I think that's something that's very necessary for us to improve as a country.
I don't play for job security.
I don't want people to think you have to look a certain way or be a certain mold to be able to be a quarterback.
I gave myself permission to feel and experience all of my emotions. In order to do that, I had to stop being afraid to feel. In order to do that, I taught myself to believe that no matter what I felt or what happened when I felt it, I would be okay.
Hardness shatters; strength endures.
We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear. That old law about "an eye for an eye" leaves everybody blind... The time is always right to do the right thing. Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
Stop, look, investigate, ask the right questions, come to the right conclusions and have the courage to act on them and see what happens. The first steps may bring the roof down on your head, but soon the commotion will clear and there will be peace and joy.
A brave heart and a courteous tongue. They shall carry thee far through the jungle, Manling.
Fear will keep you alive in a war. Fear will keep you alive in business. There's nothing wrong with fear.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.