Myself, my son and our entire family have been huge 49er fans for a very long time. Watching the team go through ups and downs, it is truly what being a football fan means. Entertainment at its finest! So when you burst onto the scene, we loved watching you play. Our son Zander joined in the fun. He was a young boy that loved watching you play. We had Colin Kaepernick birthday parties, he played football in the backyard pretending to be you. When Zander started playing pop warner football, he had to have #7 on his jersey. You were the epitome of a boyhood hero and we tried to give him every opportunity to enjoy it. We sent him to one of your camps in San Francisco. He was picked as the "Number One Draft Pick" and was able to meet you and have his picture taken with you. We also attended autograph signings two years in a row, to be able to see you and get your autograph. My husband and my son had lunch with you at one of your camps and we gifted you a signed book from our favorite author. Remember us now? :)
To be honest, our son Zander does not know about anything that has been going on with you. All he knows is that you aren't playing football right now. He knew when you were benched and he was very upset about it and blamed the coach. He knew when you were hurt and went in for surgery, he even made you a "Get Well" card. He was genuinely concerned for you! We chose to let him keep the innocence of being blissfully unaware. At his age, even if we were to try to explain it to him, I'm really not sure he would grasp the concept.
But I will tell you what he does know. He knows to love people regardless of color, race, or religion. He knows to respect people regardless of color, race, or religion. He knows to treat people the way he would want to be treated. He knows that in order to get anywhere in this world, that he needs to work for it and put forth his whole effort to achieve his dreams. As his parents, its our responsibility to groom his heart and mind to be one of respect, love, and gratitude.
We have many close family and friends that served in the military and close family and friends that are in law enforcement. They are some of the most unselfish people I know. They sacrifice time with family, put their lives on the line every single day. I believe that they deserve the utmost respect. I totally understand and respect your right to not only have an opinion but voice it. What really disappointed me was when you decided to wear those disrespectful "pig" socks on the field when you knew full well that the media would take notice.
At the right time, my son will learn that some people have ugly hearts and choose to treat people based on the color of their skin. We will not glorify ugly hearts by calling attention to them. We will however, glorify love, glorify our God, and call out the actions of the people that choose to love regardless of color, race, or religion. We will call attention to good deeds, acts of bravery, sacrifice for those less fortunate than us, and do good at every opportunity. I believe that calling out the good will influence more good. Do people need to be held accountable for their ugly hearts? Yes.
I'd just like to urge you to call attention to the people that do good every single day, regardless of the color of their skin, race, or religion. I urge you to call attention to law enforcement that put their lives on the line every day to protect people regardless of the color of their skin, race, or religion. Calling attention to the good ones will over shadow the bad ones. Respect goes a long way.
I hope you see the heart behind this letter, because I do see the heart behind your actions.
