Colin Kaepernick named most courageous and inspirational player by teammates

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

On Friday, San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick was honored with the Len Eshmont Award by his teammates. The award is given to the player who is deemed by his teammates as the most “inspirational and courageous,” according to a team statement, and was named for a leader in the original 49ers squad in 1946.

“It’s very impactful, and I think they are people who have very strong character,” Kaepernick said of his teammates after receiving the award, according to ESPN. “And to have the ability to really recognize what’s going on, how it not only affects them, but it affects their families and affects other people that look like them, is something that’s very powerful — and I’m very happy to have teammates like that, that have that type of character, that have those type of ethics and humanity.”

— Colin Kaepernick donates to Black Youth Project 100 — 

Kaepernick made headlines this year when he refused to stand for the national anthem in protest for the way African-Americans have been treated in the United States. His actions not only kicked off a series of similar protests across the country but started a national conversation on the state of race relations in the country.

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