When Colin Kaepernick chose last year to kneel during the National Anthem at NFL games, he probably didn’t expect it to land him on the cover of GQ magazine, after the entire country — including the president — weighed in on his protest against police brutality imposed on the black community.
GQ’s December Men of the Year issue was released Monday, and also features “Bad Hombre of the Year” Stephen Colbert, “Champion of the Year” Kevin Durant and “Wonder Woman of the Year” Gal Gadot. Kaepernick is honored as “Citizen of the Year,” a decoration that now has his name trending on Twitter.
Celebs from J. Cole to Ava Duvernay wrote about Kaepernick’s influence over the past year for the issue.
J. Cole said Kaepernick “sacrificed his dream” to stand up for what he believed was right.
“Suddenly something that he’s been doing blindly for his whole life–standing for the national anthem–now feels uncomfortable,” the rapper wrote. “Why? Because now it feels phony! It feels like, ‘Man, how can I stand for this thing when this country is not holding itself true to the principles it says it stands for? I feel like we’re lying.’”
DuVernay wrote that she sees Kaepernick’s actions as “art.”
“I believe that art is seeing the world that doesn’t exist,” the filmmaker said. “Civil rights activists are artists. Athletes are artists. People who imagine something that is not there. I think some folks see his protests, his resistance, as not his work. Not intentional. Not strategic. Not as progressive action. As if this was just a moment that he got caught up in. This was work. This is work that he’s doing.”
To read the full feature, head over here.
The GQ honor comes after Sports Illustrated came under fire for not including Kaepernick in their “Sports United” cover back in September, when the NFL/Anthem protests were in full swing, dominating the country’s collective conversation. SI’s executive editor Stephen Cannella said at the time that the former 49ers quarterback was left out because they wanted the piece to focus on “new voices” that emerged in the debate.
Granted, not everyone is excited about Kaepernick’s new designation, and some conservatives online are calling for a GQ boycott. But the fact that the magazine can lean left is nothing new — special correspondent Keith Olbermann even hosts a web series called “The Resistance.”
Yet, the reactions (at least on weathervane Twitter) have been mostly positive:
I'm honored to be recognized by @GQMagazine as Citizen of the Year. https://t.co/s6wBZTa6tH
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 13, 2017
AMAZING! @GQMagazine has named Colin Kaepernick the "Citizen of the Year" for his courageous protest against injustice + his work in the community. Much love to my brother Colin! https://t.co/6WnKyBiIiw pic.twitter.com/DqspzbfuXF
— COMMON (@common) November 13, 2017
Folks so mad at Colin Kaepernick on GQ. It’s almost like helping inner city children, donating money & fighting for Black lives is actually offensive to them. If you don’t hate yourself, they hate you. It’s laughable.
— Nina Parker (@theninaparker) November 13, 2017
Nobody is more deserving of Citizen of the Year than Colin Kaepernick, a true American hero who sacrificed his career to fight white supremacy. https://t.co/iRIbhlAaaz
— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) November 13, 2017
That GQ named Colin Kaepernick its Citizen of the Year reminds us that his movement is not just about football. It's about racial justice and equity for all of us.
pic.twitter.com/Wk4ONM0InW
— Simran Jeet Singh (@simran) November 13, 2017
If you are upset that Colin Kaepernick was named GQ Citizen of the Year, then most likely, you are probably a white supremacist. And I dance in racist tears like…. pic.twitter.com/BYSixRjFEi
— Tariq Nasheed
(@tariqnasheed) November 13, 2017
GQ mag did the right thing by making Colin Kaepernick "Citizen of the Year". Let's continue to shine a spotlight on how law enforcement has been infiltrated by white supremacists (according to the FBI)
— Tariq Nasheed
(@tariqnasheed) November 13, 2017
As a proud military veteran, I could not agree more with @GQMagazine in honoring Colin Kaepernick as "Citizen of the Year".
I see him as a courageous voice, someone who stands up for Constitutional values, no matter the opposition. That, to me, is true patriotism.
— Charlotte Clymer
(@cmclymer) November 13, 2017