Kaepernick led the 49ers at the 2013 Super Bowl. Don't expect a mention this time

Nestled among this year’s silly Super Bowl prop bets – such as whether or not Jennifer Lopez will show butt cleavage during the halftime show – is a far more interesting one: will the Fox broadcast mention Colin Kaepernick’s name? Even once?

Kaepernick is relevant this year, and not just for his activities off the field. He was the 49ers quarterback the last time the team reached the Super Bowl, in 2013, and played a huge part in their success that season – it stands to reason he would be discussed when we look back at the team’s last title shot. But you’d be smart to emphatically place your money place on Kaepernick not getting a single mention on Sunday. After all, his name wasn’t uttered when 49ers running Raheem Mostert broke Kaepernick’s postseason rushing record during the NFC Championship game earlier this month, a game televised by Fox.

Related: Colin Kaepernick is the black Grinch for those who dream of a white America

The Super Bowl is supposed to be a national party, a raucous, lighthearted event consumed with family and plenty of food. It’s the league’s biggest opportunity to hide its many stains. Yet despite the NFL’s best effort to erase Kaepernick from the history books on Super Bowl Sunday (and every other day) his treatment both permeates the league and transcends it.

It’s been more than three years since Kaepernick last played in the NFL. In August 2016, he was caught on camera sitting during the national anthem, his first rendition of a peaceful protest. After a conversation rooted in mutual respect with former Green Beret turned NFL hopeful, Nate Boyer, Kaepernick quickly reverted to kneeling.

Kaepernick’s bold decision to use his platform to give a voice to the voiceless came on the heels of a slew of African Americans, such as Tamir Rice and Michael Brown, being fatally shot by police officers. He had also engaged in a deeper understanding of his own background.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he explained to reporters at the time. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

To Kaepernick, the national anthem and American flag did not just symbolize military greatness, they also represented a deeply unequal country dripping with racism. To the NFL, the national anthem and American flag mainly represent the armed forces. The star-spangled optics have always been present in NFL stadiums but spiked when the league collected more than $6m in taxpayer money from the Department of Defense between 2011 and 2014. The league’s forced patriotism paired well with Donald Trump, who soon entered the fray and attacked Kaepernick with bombastic shots, such as the suggestion that he leave the country. Trump continued to brand Kaepernick and his supporters as un-American and turned protesting NFL players into a hot-button topic.

Kaepernick’s protests were driven by a greater sense of purpose. And he knew the career risk. Though only 28, and just a few years removed from playing in the Super Bowl, he opted out of his 49ers contract, hopeful that he would become a prized free-agent. But NFL owners, many of them friendly with Trump, appeared to shut Kaepernick out of the league. At first, Kaepernick’s unemployment seemed strange, considering the need for talented quarterbacks, but as time passed the reality set in. It’s almost as if his opponents thought by banishing Kaepernick, we would somehow forget him.

Boy, did they underestimate the fervidity and sheer size of Kaepernick’s supporters.

In mid-2018, the NFL chose a new course of action when it entered the social justice space by funding the Players Coalition, a group of activist minded player that once included Kaepernick and his best friend, Panthers safety Eric Reid. The Players Coalition coordinates NFL athletes’ social justice efforts and works on policy issues such as bail reform. How much of the NFL’s funding was to quiet Kaepernick supporters rather than engage in genuine altruism is debatable. But as the I’m With Kap faction grew even stronger, for some the notion of doing any form of business with the NFL while Kaepernick remained unemployed was met with disdain.

Kaepernick’s banishment is the reason artists like Cardi B and Rihanna have turned down the Super Bowl halftime show. It’s the reason the NFL’s partnership with Jay-Z, designed to amplify its social justice efforts, was instantly panned.

The latest effort to quiet the Kaepernick crowd came in November when the NFL made an unprecedented move to host a workout for Kaepernick. He was finally going to get his big chance … or not. The workout was fraught with problems – Kaepernick had virtually no notice, it was to be held on a Saturday, when NFL teams prepare for Sunday games, and no one other than the NFL could film the session. Kaepernick switched locations at the last minute and livestreamed a workout starring a man who looked NFL-ready. Yet the league tried to brand Kaepernick’s rogue quest for transparency as the key issue.

And now in perhaps its greatest act of hypocrisy yet, the NFL has released a PSA about Botham Jean, an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by an off-duty police officer. It’s a powerful story that sheds light on the continuing crisis of racial inequality. It’s also the exact type of story that Kaepernick got banned for bringing attention to.

To this day, Kaepernick is said to wake up early to work out on the off chance an NFL franchise calls. He has spent much of his days working tirelessly on a slew of philanthropic projects. In the process, a once shy man has found his voice and embraced his role as a spokesperson for the unheard.

The 49ers are striving for their sixth Super Bowl ring on Sunday. Fox will likely delve into the 49ers’ glory years and laud team greats such as Joe Montana and Steve Young. The NFL will surely hope Kaepernick’s name is not mentioned. Yet no matter how much energy is put into erasing Kaepernick from our memory, he will be far more remembered in 100 years than the vast majority who have ever played in a Super Bowl.