Kaepernick: Right message, wrong platform

By George Gerbo

We asked two members of our team to write columns giving their opinion of Colin Kaepernick’s protest of The Star Spangled Banner. 

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (Photo Credit: Seatacular/Creative Commons)

I don’t like Colin Kaepernick.

That’s not because of anything he’s done lately, though. It’s because I watched in-person from the last row of Candlestick Park as the fleet-footed quarterback ran roughshod over my Green Bay Packers in the 2013 NFC Divisional Round.

From that game, Kaepernick became a star, leading the San Francisco 49ers to back-to-back NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl berth. He’s made more of a name for himself now as QB2 (now QB1 again) on a bad Niners team because of his decision to not stand for the national anthem before games.

I keep hearing that Colin Kaepernick, as a citizen of the United States, is free to exercise his right to protest the national anthem. That’s true. Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the 49ers and employee of the National Football League, however, only has that right because Roger Goodell hasn’t taken it away.

Former Terps catching their way to NFL stardom

By Anirudh Sridhar

Former Maryland standout Stefon Diggs in action for the Minnesota Vikings (Photo courtesy of Stefon Diggs, via Instagram)

Since the 2006 NFL Draft, the Maryland Terrapins have produced numerous NFL players, especially players with tremendous catching abilities at the wide receiver and tight end positions. The list includes Vernon Davis, Torrey Smith, and most recently, Stefon Diggs.

The trend began in the first round of the 2006 draft when the San Francisco 49ers selected Vernon Davis with the sixth overall pick. Davis was named to the Pro Bowl in 2009 and 2013 and was a part of the 49ers’ Super Bowl run in 2012. He was traded at the tail end of the 2015 season to the Denver Broncos and won a ring with the team in Super Bowl 50.