At a time when the world seems to be upside-down, some vegan inspiration never goes amiss. With that in mind, you may know Colin Kaepernick as the NFL star who, from 2016, “took a knee” at the start of American football games in protest at police brutality in the US. Which is of course something to keep in mind given recent events across the US.
What you may not know is that Kaepernick is also a vegan. Completely flying in the face of those that would portray NFL as being a “red meat” game, Kaepernick’s compassionate vegan lifestyle allows us to see, more and more, that top level athletes and sport-stars can do what they do as vegans.
Inspired by his wife’s veganism, Kaepernick made the decision to go vegan for both the animals and ethical reasons back in 2016. He has also lauded the lifestyle for helping him to stay in prime physical health. After going vegan, he tweeted a photo of himself in the gym in 2018 looking in great shape, with the words “Always ready. #notbadforavegan”.
So, not only is Kaepernick an advocate for disadvantaged American citizens, he is also an advocate in the fight against animal exploitation. His vegan message is clearly having an effect as more and more top flight NFL players are also taking up the lifestyle – DaQuan Jones, Theo Riddick, Andre Patton and more. That list continues to grow year on year and is not only in NFL – vegan athletes are to be found in rugby, soccer, cricket, MMA and more.
Kaepernick and his fellow vegan NFL athletes, are the perfect embodiment of the reality that you don’t need to consume meat or animal by-products to excel at any sport. During his time at the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick was able to show just how a great player he was while all the time as a vegan.
