Kaepernick Receives Amnesty International Conscience Award

Former National Football League (NFL) quarterback Colin Kaepernick was awarded the Ambassador of Conscience award for 2018 by Amnesty International, on Saturday.

RELATED: 
'It Was Never About Me:' Colin Kaepernick Completes $1M Pledge 

The award is given to a person or organization “dedicated to fighting injustice and using their talents to inspire others.” Amnesty International Secretary General, Salil Shetty, said Kaepernick is “an athlete who is now widely recognized for his activism because of his refusal to ignore or accept racial discrimination.”

“When Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel to highlight the issue of racism and an alarming number of black people being killed, we thought that he would be a very fitting person to get this award and really challenge the high levels of racism and racist killings that the US is seeing,” the secretary-general explained.

The former football player took a stand to protest racial inequality, injustice and police brutality across the United States by kneeling during the pre-game segments – when the national anthem is played – of his 2016 season in the league.

“In truth, this is an award that I share with all of the countless people throughout the world combating the human rights violations of police officers, and their uses of oppressive and excessive force,” Kaepernick said.

The act of kneeling angered many NFL fans and U.S. President Donald Trump, who urged team owners to fire all players who participate in the peaceful protests.

Fans claimed Kaepernick's actions were disrespectful to the American flag and to members of the armed forces. While the president referred to the players as 'sons of bitches' during the social media post which called for their immediate dismissal.

"Racialized oppression and dehumanization is woven into the very fabric of our nation - the effects of which can be seen in the lawful lynching of black and brown people by the police, and the mass incarceration of black and brown lives in the prison industrial complex," Kaepernick said at the ceremony.

“How can you stand for the national anthem of a nation that preaches and propagates, 'freedom and justice for all,' that is so unjust to so many of the people living there?”

The former-San Francisco 49ers was present with the award by his ex-teammate Eric Reid, who also knelt in protest with Kaepernick.

Shetty said Kaepernick and Reid have displayed “immense courage” despite “vitriolic attacks” and “negative campaigns,” adding that “not a single NFL team is ready to now sign them on.”

The demonstrations prompted the NFL to commit US$90m to social justice causes, in a bid to stop the players from kneeling after the protests began to take precedence over the actual games.

Kaepernick has yet to secure a contract since the end of the 2016 season when he exited San Francisco.

Previous recipients of the award include anti-apartheid campaigner and late South African President Nelson Mandela and Pakistani education advocate Malala, who was shot defending the right to education for girls.