Pete Carroll: 'We Owe a Tremendous Amount' to Colin Kaepernick for Taking Stand

Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll praised Colin Kaepernick for his stand against systemic racism and police brutality during the 2016 season. 

On the Flying Coach podcast on Tuesday (h/t ESPN's Nick Friedell), Carroll said "we owe a tremendous amount" to Kaepernick for his protest during the national anthem in his final season with the San Francisco 49ers:

"I think that there was a moment in time that a young man captured. He took a stand on something, figuratively took a knee, but he stood up for something he believed in -- and what an extraordinary moment it was that he was willing to take. ... But what happened from the process is it elevated awareness from people that just took everything away from what the statement was all about, and it just got tugged and pulled and ripped apart."

In the three years since Kaepernick became a free agent, the Seahawks are one of the few teams that reportedly had some interest in adding him.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in April 2018 that Seahawks officials postponed a scheduled workout for Kaepernick when he declined to say he would stop taking a knee during the national anthem. 

Kaepernick first talked about his refusal to stand for the national anthem prior to a preseason game between the 49ers and Green Bay Packers in 2016. 

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL.com's Steve Wyche at the time. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

Initially remaining seated on the bench to protest, Kaepernick switched to taking a knee during the national anthem after meeting with Army Green Beret Nate Boyer. 

"We sorta came to a middle ground where he would take a knee alongside his teammates," Boyer told HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel of his meeting with Kaepernick. "Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother's grave, you know, to show respect. When we're on a patrol, you know, and we go into a security halt, we take a knee, and we pull security."

While Kaepernick has gone unsigned by NFL teams, he has remained active in promoting and educating citizens on social-justice reform through his Know Your Rights Camp.