Colin Kaepernick and his girlfriend labeled as fake news a story by a CBS reporter who said the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback wouldn’t kneel in the future if he returned to the NFL. The reporter who made the claim on "The NFL Today" later changed his story.
The erroneous news spread from CBS Sports when reporter Jason La Canfora said on the show that he talked with Kaepernick on Saturday. According to the CBS segment, Kaepernick told La Canfora he has been working out regularly and ready to play if he gets a call to play.
When asked on the show if Kaepernick planned on continuing to take a knee if hired, La Canfora said, according to CBS News: "He's not planning on kneeling. He's going to donate all his jersey sales and he's planning on standing for the anthem if given the opportunity …"
That brought a response from Kaepernick's girlfriend, former MTV host Nessa Diab, who said La Canfora’s statement about the free agent quarterback standing during the national anthem was false, the New York Post reported.
Kaepernick followed with a Twitter post.
La Canfora later changed his story, saying he never actually talked with Kaepernick about taking a knee during the national anthem and depended on previous reporting.
ESPN reported in March, through sources, that Kaepernick had decided not to continue his protest, even though it did not quote the quarterback directly. Kaepernick at the time was planning on opting out of his contract with the 49ers.
The protest among NFL players picked up steam last month when President Donald Trump suggested that league owners fire players who did not stand for the national anthem. That sparked a mass protest among players with more than 200 taking a knee during the national anthem on Sept. 24, The Associated Press reported.
Vice President Mike Pence left the Indianapolis Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium against San Francisco after some players on the 49ers took a knee during the national anthem, National Public Radio reported.