San Francisco 49ers

Poll says Kaepernick NFL’s most disliked player ... but the feeling isn’t universal

49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has taken a peaceful stand against racism and police brutality in America by not standing for the national anthem, is now the most disliked player in the NFL, according to a recent poll of Americans by E-Poll Marketing Research, as reported by ESPN.com, which asked 1,100 people whose demographics were representative of the general population.

The poll, taken last week, revealed that Kaepernick was “disliked a lot” by 29 percent of those polled, more than any of the more than 350 players asked about in the survey. Kaepernick finished ahead, in the dislike category, of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston (22 percent), Miami Dolphins defensive end Ndamukong Suh (21 percent), New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (13 percent) and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (10 percent).

Among African Americans, Kaepernick has never been more popular. The poll shows 42 percent of African Americans now say they like the 49ers quarterback “a lot,” while only 2 percent dislike him “a lot.” Two years ago, only 16 percent of African-Americans said they liked Kaepernick “a lot,” while 3 percent disliked him "a lot."

As Kaepernick’s actions gained national focus, his his No. 7 became the NFL’s best-selling jersey at the beginning of the month.

Here’s what others are saying about the 49ers quarterback:

Compiled by Stu Rosenberg

This story was originally published September 21, 2016 at 6:43 PM with the headline "Poll says Kaepernick NFL’s most disliked player ... but the feeling isn’t universal."

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