Kaepernick’s Super Bowl Close Call Has Lasting Impact on NFL

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer

One play. Five yards. A flag that wasn't thrown. Seven years ago at the Super Bowl, that was all that separated the San Francisco 49ers from a world championship. The San Francisco quarterback that day was Colin Kaepernick. Things have never been the same since, either for him or for the NFL. The 49ers made it back to the Super Bowl this week without Kaepernick.

Still, the quarterback has brought the league to a point of reckoning. He has forced it to deal with social issues that long went ignored. The NFL is devoting millions of dollars to community programs. But the irony is that while the league is addressing Kapernick's call for social justice, Kaepernick himself still cannot get work in the league.