Five years ago, star quarterback Colin Kaepernick changed the NFL for good. Kaepernick’s historic kneel would influence the NFL for years, raise criticism from the United States President, and lead to a newly published drama about his life on Netflix. 

The drama “Colin in Black and White“ displays his life as an adopted black man and discusses racial inequalities he faced throughout his life. “Colin in Black & White” shows the discrimination Kaepernick faced, as well as his constant battle with the decision to choose between being a professional baseball player or a professional football player.

The show began with his insight on the NFL Combine. The NFL Combine is an invitational event held for professional athletes to showcase their abilities. Kaepernick related the Combine to slavery because of how athletes display themselves and their worth to raise their draft stock. 

“Coaches will tell you they are looking for warriors, killers, beasts, and you wanna give them that,” Kaepernick said, in reference to the Combine. “What they don’t want you to understand is that what is being established is a power dynamic.”

The drama then transitions to Kaepernick talking about his idol, Allen Iverson. At a young age Kaepernick wanted to have cornrows like Iverson but after many people compared him to a “thug,” and called him “unprofessional,” he deferred. In the show, Kaepernick expressed that cornrows represented the culture in his blood and that it was unfair how he was profiled.

An extensive part of the drama depicts Kaepernick’s choice between football and baseball. Kaepernick was talented and gifted in many sports but his best sport could have arguably been baseball. Although in present-day Kaepernick chose to attend the University of Nevada, he had the opportunity to play in the MLB when he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2009. Kaepernick highlighted in the drama that even in hotels between baseball games, he faced small instances of racial injustice.

In all honesty, I would rate the drama a solid B. “Colin in Black & White“ gave good insight into the life struggles that people of color face daily. Although the NFL Combine has some controversial aspects such as when doctors examine a player’s body, the players allow it to create millions of dollars in future wealth for themselves. I also thought that the reason why Kaepernick cut his cornrows is a major representation of obstacles people of color have to face. For example, dual-sport athletes who were drafted into the NFL and the MLB such as Tom Brady would probably not have to face the same racial inequalities athletes of color may have to face. 

Kaepernick’s path to the NFL intrigued me when he displayed how coaches can influence a player’s future life decisions. Coaches are known to help their players get to college, and in the drama, Kaepernick’s baseball coach pushed him to play baseball but he did not give in, which led him to follow his dream and play football at the University of Nevada.

I would recommend “Colin in Black & White” to anyone who wants to learn more about how people of color may be faced with inequality daily. If you like sports, you will be very interested in the high school student-athlete process that Kaepernick portrays.

Watch “Colin in Black & White” on Netflix today.