Colin Kaepernick featured on TIME cover amid national anthem protest

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is featured on this week's cover of TIME magazine amid his ongoing protest during the playing of the national anthem before games.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is featured on this week's cover of TIME magazine amid his ongoing protest during the playing of the national anthem before games. 

Kaepernick is the subject of a story by Sean Gregory on how the quarterback's decision to take a stand by taking a knee has started a conversation on racial issues and the definition of patriotism. 

Kaepernick began his protest during the preseason, when he remained seated on the bench during the anthem in an effort to raise awareness about racial inequality and police violence in the United States. After a conversation with former Seahawks long snapper and Green Beret Nate Boyer, Kaepernick transitioned the protest from taking a seat to taking a knee. 

He has been joined by other players throughout the league, including teammate Eric Reid. 

• Marshawn Lynch: Rather Kaepernick kneel in protest than stand and be shot

TIME’s new cover: The perilous fight. How national anthem protests led by Colin Kaepernick are fueling a debate https://t.co/FsZoblqj0b pic.twitter.com/pCVB3wM2kp

— TIME (@TIME) September 22, 2016

Some critics have called Kaepernick unpatriotic, and the quarterback said this week that he has received death threats. 

“If something like that were to happen, you've proved my point,” Kaepernick said. “It'll be loud and clear why it happened.”

– Erin Flynn