THE SPARK

Colin Kaepernick: The Mario Woods Police Shooting Inspired Me to Kneel During Anthem

Exiled NFL quarterback says December 2015 incident, when San Francisco police shot Woods 20 times, began his career as an activist.

Colin Kaepernick told the magazine Paper that it was the December 2015 police shooting of Mario Woods in San Francisco that inspired him to kneel during the national anthem at NFL games and subsequently began his career as an activist. Five police officers shot Wood 20 times in the city’s Bayview neighborhood after he reportedly did not drop his knife. An autopsy report showed that six of the gunshots hit him in the back. A video of the incident shared on social media ignited outrage. The San Francisco District Attorney's Office declined to bring criminal charges against the officers involved and an internal affairs investigation concluded the SFPD officers acted within agency guidelines. Woods’ family later filed a wrongful-death suit against the city and settled for $400,000. Kaepernick, at the time the 49ers star quarterback hasn’t played pro football since 2017, when he declared free agency, and sued the NFL for allegedly colluding to keep him out of the league. The claim was settled out of court.