The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is back in the spotlight for some unfinished business. A decade after leaving the league, his memoir (The Perilous Fight) is coming out. That’s when his wife, Nessa Diab, took a firm stand against sports analyst Stephen A. Smith, who, to her, still stays deliberately ignorant of whatever happened to Kaepernick back then.

“I seeeeee some things never change,” she wrote on her Instagram story, sharing a screenshot of Smith’s Sirius XM podcast appearance. “Stephen A Smith conveniently leaves out WHY Colin did his workout publicly in a diff location for EVERYONE to see. Here’s the WHY: The NFL and (according to SAS) supposedly Roc Nation wanted Colin to sign a predatory waiver that would forfeit his employment rights. Disappointing to STILL see you still covering for the league blackballing Colin for his protest.”

Diab thought of taking a stand after Smith dragged Kaepernick into the conversation. 

Smith said on the SiriusXM podcast: “Colin Kaepernick says he still believes the NFL has deliberately kept him out of the league. He’s 38 years of age. He told this to NBC News, that he no longer watches NFL games and continues to accuse the league of blackballing him. I’m here to tell you that’s not entirely accurate. You want to say the league is blackballing you? That’s like a league office thing. That’s not the case.

“The individual teams and owners wanting nothing to do with him? He is absolutely right. My point is, who the hell is surprised? And considering his unwillingness to show up for the workout, here’s the bigger question. Can you blame them?”

Back on September 1, 2016, Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem before a preseason game to protest against racial injustice and police treatment of black people.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color,” he said back then. “To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.”

This move had some strong repercussions. According to Kaepernick, the NFL “blackballed” him, since no NFL team offered him a contract after those protests during his final season with the 49ers. Fast forward to 2019, the NFL thought of giving Kaepernick a chance to prove himself again and to see whether any team picked him up now since the situation had cooled down. However, at the last moment, the event was moved to a new location, 60 miles away. 

Kaepernick’s workout was originally scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Falcons’ facility in Flowery Branch, but 30 minutes before the start time, his representatives moved it to Drew High School in Riverdale, Georgia, at 4 p.m.

Years later, Diab shared how Stephen refused to disclose the reason behind the change of location. A waiver was a major factor.

“From the outset, Mr. Kaepernick requested a legitimate process and from the outset the NFL league office has not provided one,” the statement released by Kaepernick’s representatives stated back then. “Most recently, the NFL has demanded that as a precondition to the workout, Mr. Kaepernick sign an unusual liability waiver that addresses employment-related issues and rejected the standard liability waiver from physical injury proposed by Mr. Kaepernick’s representatives.”

Almost a decade has passed since then. However, Kaepernick still holds a bitter feeling about the league. The former 49ers quarterback, who guided San Francisco to the Super Bowl in 2012 in a remarkable turnaround, says he hasn’t watched an NFL game since his departure from the league. He now watches college football.