Sports ‘I wanted to do what was right’: Tommie Smith and Colin Kaepernick connected across history February 9, 2021 Mike Freeman, USA TODAY Comments Off on ‘I wanted to do what was right’: Tommie Smith and Colin Kaepernick connected across history A few seconds of Tommie Smith's life led to the intersection of two heroes, Smith and Colin Kaepernick, separated by time, a podium and a knee.