There is an issue that has not been brought up which is beyond racism/kneeling etc. Kaepernick was quickly becoming irrelevant in the league and he knew he was going to get cut, so why not polarize yourself? What better way to bring attention to yourself (any publicity is good publicity).
I remember when McKinnie was brought in by the Dolphins to replace Jonathan Martin. Within a week of McKinnie signing with the dolphins all of the sudden (soon to be cut) Martin started bullygate? I'm not saying this is their true motives(only they know), but some of the points I bring up might be more selfish of these individuals than bringing awareness to a cause.
All I am saying is had these individuals been killing it on the field and waiting for big contracts, would they have done it??
Kaepernick grew an Al-Qaeda beard and turned against the US Flag because he started dating a Muslim woman. He went to the U of Nevada (Reno) and I live in Reno and watched him play many, many times. I also met him a few times at fundraisers. The guy has the brains of a low-grade houseplant and was easily influenced by his new mate. He may now believe he was defending Black Americans, but this is as much bullshit as your statement that he did it to bring attention to himself.