Colin Kaepernick fans who have longed for his return to the NFL can now see him playing for the football league in an immersive experience.
The former San Francisco 49er has been added to the roster of players that will be seen in “Madden ‘21.”
Electronic Arts, the company behind the Madden video games announced the good news with an image of Kaepernick in the video game alongside a caption that welcomed him back.
“Colin Kaepernick is one of the top free agents in football and starting-caliber quarterback,” EA wrote in a second post. “The team at EA Sports along with ‘Madden NFL’ fans want to see him back in our game. We’ve had a long relationship with Colin through ‘Madden NFL’ and worked through out past soundtrack mistakes.”
“Knowing that our EA SPORTS experiences are platforms for players to create, we want to make ‘Madden NFL’ a place that reflects Colin’s position and talent, rates him as a starting QB and empowers our fans to express their hopes for the future of football,” the statement continued, before announcing video gamers will be able to play as him or against him in the game.
Despite seeing Kaepernick on the fields in the video game, the same isn’t true in reality. The former football player was allegedly blackballed by the NFL after he kneeled during the National Anthem to call attention to police brutality and racism.
He filed a grievance against the league that has since been settled and received an apology from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, but he has not yet been recruited by any teams.
Kaepernick’s form of protest has instead inspired athletes across and sports organizations across the sports league to stand up and use their platforms to advance social equality.
Following the brutal shooting of Jacob Blake, boycotts were staged and social media justice initiatives were announced.
The NFL, for example, announced they will paint social justice messages across end zones, adding they will close all of their facilities to ensure their employees are free to vote on Election Day.
Look below for EA’s announcement.