Some people can't help but use the F word.
It's almost automatic while watching San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick torch his opponents with his dazzling sprints and finger-bending passes. While seeing him kiss his tattooed bicep post-touchdown--a practice now known as Kaepernicking. What do you call a player whose butt was on the bench until the middle of last season but who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in just his ninth NFL start, who was one possession away from completing a historic comeback against the Baltimore Ravens in New Orleans? Who now has the top-selling jersey in the NFL? Yes, you hear it a lot, the F word: Colin Kaepernick is a freak.
Kaepernick doesn't warm to the description; for him, that word has dangerous codes. "To me, when people say, 'Oh, you're a freak athlete'"--he pauses--"it's bittersweet." Kaepernick, 25, has just finished a round of golf at the Del Rio Country Club in Modesto, Calif. He headlined a charity tournament for Camp Taylor, a program that serves children with heart disease. Now he's relaxing in the clubhouse and touching on a broad range of topics during a nearly hour-long conversation. "It's a huge compliment to say, O.K., you have physical abilities that are kind of above and beyond," Kaepernick continues. "But at the same time, I feel like it diminishes the mental side of the game. And I think it takes away from the time we study the playbook, the time we spend in the film room and the preparation we put in."
As its teams head to training camps, the NFL could certainly use a genuine football hero. Since the Super Bowl, more than 30 pro players have been accused of crimes, including murder, assault and other mayhem. And Kaepernick could play the hero role easily given his abilities and size--a 6-ft. 4-in., 230-lb. action figure. Just don't expect the central-casting model, either as a player or a person.
In Kaepernick's mind, it's no coincidence that young, dual-threat quarterbacks like himself, Robert Griffin III of Washington and Russell Wilson of Seattle--all black quarterbacks--are called freak athletes, while white QBs like the Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck are more likely to be dubbed cerebral pocket passers. Kaepernick, who was adopted by a white family, has a black birth father and a white birth mother. "It's a touchy subject, 'cause I never want to take it there, where it seems like it's all about race," says Kaepernick. "But I feel like that's something that comes along with the territory of being a black quarterback. When you have success--'Oh, you're a freak athlete.' Not, 'Oh, you're a good quarterback.' And I think that's a barrier that needs to be broken down."