Colin Kaepernick on election: 'Didn't really matter who went in there'

                                      
TEMPE, Ariz. -- San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick says it didn't matter to him who won Tuesday's presidential election.

Kaepernick said he didn't believe any of the candidates, including President-elect Donald Trump, who in the past criticized Kaepernick's decision to kneel during the national anthem, would change a "system" that the quarterback said "oppresses people of color."

Kaepernick, who did not vote Tuesday, said during a conference call Wednesday with media in Arizona that he "really didn't pay too close of attention" to the election, which was decided close to midnight on the West Coast.

"I've been very disconnected from the systematic oppression as a whole," Kaepernick said. "So, for me, it's another face that's going to be the face of that system of oppression.

"And to me, it didn't really matter who went in there, the system still remains intact that oppresses people of color."

Kaepernick, 29, has taken a stance against racial inequality and oppression all season by kneeling during the national anthem. He stopped standing for the anthem during preseason games and has continued his protest throughout the regular season -- a gesture denounced by Trump.

During an interview with KIRO radio in Seattle in August, Trump criticized Kaepernick's choice not to protest the anthem.

"I think it's personally not a good thing, I think it's a terrible thing," Trump said. "And, you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him. Let him try, it won't happen."

Kaepernick responded in September to Trump's comments.

"That's a very ignorant statement, that if you don't agree with what's going on here, that if you want justice and liberty and freedom for all, that you should leave the country," Kaepernick said. "He always says, 'Make America great again.' Well, America has never been great for people of color, and that's something that needs to be addressed. Let's make America great for the first time."

While Kaepernick singled out Trump, he also shared his dissatisfaction with Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton after the first presidential debate in September.

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