Where is Colin Kaepernick's Presidential Medal of Freedom?

Then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, right, kneels during the national anthem with teammate Eric Reid in 2016.

July 7, 2022 3 AM PT

To the editor: When soccer star Megan Rapinoe campaigned for LGBTQ rights, she was warmly received.

However, when she took a knee to show solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee during the national anthem to bring attention to the issue of racial inequality and police brutality, she was castigated by whites, then-President Trump and conservative commentators in the media who changed the narrative and accused her and those who who take a knee of disrespecting the military.

Rapinoe is allowed to continue playing soccer, while Kaepernick was effectively banned from playing in the NFL. Likewise, Rapinoe is now a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, while Kaepernick is still a pariah.

I view this as an example of social, racial and gender inequality.

Debra Thomas, Inglewood