--- title: San Francisco Quarterback Colin Kaepernick Goes Off on Fan via Twitter description: Colin Kaepernick, the talented but often criticized quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, lashed out at a fan on Twitter Wednesday night canonical: https://time.com/3714553/san-francisco-49ers-quarterback-colin-kaepernick-twitter/ author: Kevin McSpadden article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-19T07:29:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T04:32:15.111Z article:section: Sports og:title: Colin Kaepernick Goes Off on Fan via Twitter og:description: The San Francisco 49ers quarterback isn't one for constructive criticism. og:url: https://time.com/3714553/san-francisco-49ers-quarterback-colin-kaepernick-twitter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Colin Kaepernick Goes Off on Fan via Twitter twitter:description: The San Francisco 49ers quarterback isn't one for constructive criticism. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick Launches Searing Verbal Attack on Fan via Twitter by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Feb 19, 2015 7:29 AM UTC by [Kevin McSpadden](https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/) ## Kevin McSpadden Feb 19, 2015 7:29 AM UTC Colin Kaepernick, the talented but often criticized quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, lashed out at a fan on Twitter on Wednesday. The outburst started after Kaepernick posted this on his timeline: > [](https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7/status/568162378925215744) To which the fan, Stephen Batten, replied: > [](https://twitter.com/battman%5Freturns/status/568173496158658560) That was enough to prompt Kaepernick to let loose with a volley of tweets going after Batten. > [](https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7/status/568174319789977600) > [](https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7/status/568174558462627840) > [](https://twitter.com/Kaepernick7/status/568177420987011072) It is unconfirmed if Batten indeed had eight followers when he sent out the first tweet, but as of publishing he now has over 1,500 followers — and that number is climbing fast. Batten has yet to respond to Kaepernick’s broadside, while the quarterback retweeted the support he received from fans and media alike, including the famous sportscaster Erin Andrews. > [](https://twitter.com/ErinAndrews/status/568189502797148160) > [](https://twitter.com/theJohnPowers/status/568205104299384832) This is the second time in two weeks that a controversial athlete has become embroiled with a fan on social media. Last Monday, embattled Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III got into a [heated argument with a fan](http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/02/09/washington-redskins-rgiii-instagram-critic) on Instagram. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3714553/san-francisco-49ers-quarterback-colin-kaepernick-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3714553/san-francisco-49ers-quarterback-colin-kaepernick-twitter/"},"headline":"49ers QB Colin Kaepernick Launches Searing Verbal Attack on Fan via Twitter","datePublished":"2015-02-19T07:29:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:32:15.111Z","description":"\"Get better at life!\"","url":"https://time.com/3714553/san-francisco-49ers-quarterback-colin-kaepernick-twitter/","keywords":["Football","twitter","San Francisco","ESPN","tweet","San Francisco 49ers","Washington Redskins","Colin Kaepernick"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin McSpadden","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-mcspadden/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/football/","name":"Football"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3714553/san-francisco-49ers-quarterback-colin-kaepernick-twitter/","name":"49ers QB Colin Kaepernick Launches Searing Verbal Attack on Fan via Twitter"}}]}] ```