Colin Kaepernick Scores TD, Kisses Tats, Says Hi to Haters

Colin Kaepernick loves his tattoos, and he let all the haters know it after scoring a touchdown late in the fourth quarter for the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14.

Kaepernick led the 49ers to a 27-13 win over the Miami Dolphins, and his 50-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter sealed the victory.

Via CBS Sports' Dane Brugler:

"

It was subtle, but after that big TD run #49ers QB C. Kaepernick acknowledged his arm tattoos and then kissed one of them

— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) December 9, 2012"

And who could blame him?

Sporting News' David Whitley recently published a hack job where he penned such gems as:

"

San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick is going to be a big-time NFL quarterback. That must make the guys in San Quentin happy.

For dinosaurs like me, NFL quarterbacks were our little Dutch boys. Pro QBs were the last line of defense against the raging sea of ink. When our kids said they wanted a tattoo, we could always point to the Manning brothers.

I still think tattoo removal is going to be huge industry in the coming years. But for now, I might as well accept that Holland is probably doomed. If you can’t draw the tattoo line at NFL quarterback, you can’t draw them anywhere.

"

Never mind that most of Kaepernick's tattoos are Psalms from the Bible.

Never mind that Kaepernick is as clean-cut a guy as you're ever going to find—the kind of young man you hope your daughter brings home. He never gets into trouble, earned a 4.0 mark at high school and is described by his father as a "fairly religious kid," according to USA Today's Robert Klemko.

Kaepernick's tattoos are an expression of who he is as a person. Attacking them is the same as attacking him, and guys like Whitley don't have a clue about who he is. 

I don't blame him one bit for hitting back at his critics—albeit without much rancor.

He deserves to be who he wants to be, and nobody should criticize his choice of expressing himself. After all, his tats aren't exactly gang signs.

The world is an ever-changing landscape of humanity. Kaepernick and his tattoos are here to stay, and anyone who can't handle those two facts needs an intervention. 

Follow me on Twitter @JesseReed78 and check out my weekly NFL picks at Pickfactor.com