San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been in headlines all year for his pregame theatrics more so than his play on the field. Kaepernick has spent the whole NFL season being notarized for kneeling during the National Anthem before games in order to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and other social oppressions.

Many people applauded his actions and his boldness. Sports are a societal institution that most people believe is sacred ground. For sports fans, it does not matter if you are rich or poor; your ethnicity does not matter, nothing else matters but the fact that your team is winning.

So for Colin Kaepernick to use this stage to bring a light to the social issues we face in America, it made some people who approved happy, but it also made a lot of people unhappy and cynical toward him.

A couple days after the election Kaepernick was fielding questions. He was asked if he had voted in this year’s presidential election between President-Elect Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. His answer was, quite frankly, “No.” His supposed reasoning was it did not matter. But yes, Colin, it did matter.

You were protesting social injustices and systematic racism; it would make sense that you show how voting is an important part in how minorities can participate in making changes that will help alleviate those issues. His lack of judgement in that reality was completely hypocritical toward everything he was kneeling for.

It is completely arguable that your kneeling during the National Anthem at football games was partially to blame for Trump’s victory on Nov. 9. The fact that your protest angered so many people and drove many to not even watch NFL football because of it was one thing. We all know that some reasons for the outcome of the election was the issue of race and how so many people voted based on being tired of hearing about race and progressive agendas.

Your protest propelled people to vote in a manner in which they were tired of being classified and tired of constant race talks and also saw your act as disrespect towards service men and women.

The firestorm of controversy behind the protest had an effect on the election, whether it be small or large. Next time you decide to make such a strong stance, make sure you vote according to your beliefs as well.