Colin Kaepernick expressed his support for the protests in Minneapolis, MN over the death of George Floyd who was killed by Minneapolis police. The protesters took to the streets on Wednesday night and were met with tear gas and rubber bullets. Before long, protesters began burning buildings, destroying police cars, and looting stores. Kaepernick shared his thoughts on Instagram and Twitter, as he wrote, “When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction," adding, "The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance." Kaepernick punctuated his message with, “We have the right to fight back!” 

Now-fired officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd for several minutes which led to the man's death. Video of the blatant disregard for Floyd's life on behalf of Chauvin and his fellow ex-officers is another example of police brutality against black people, black men, in particular, which was at the heart of Colin Kaepernick's pre-game kneeling protest

.While Kaepernick's post can be viewed as a statement outright encouraging violent protest, he echoes the sentiment made by many activists and leaders of the past but also the Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey who said the protests were the “result of so much built-up anger and sadness.”