Colin Kaepernick, the 49ers’ new QB with arms full of tattoos, was the subject of a bizarre column by David Whitney AOL Fanhouse ripping said ink. At least one NFL player tweeted at Whitley that the column was racist; I wrote this. The column was so inflammatory that AOL added this tagline at the bottom of the column late Thursday: ‘David Whitley’s opinion is not reflective of the opinion of AOL, Inc.’

Kaepernick’s parents didn’t think much of it, either.

“It annoyed me,” Teresa said. “You are categorizing this kid on something like tattoos? Really? Saying other guys are role models because they don’t have them? Really? Some of these other guys don’t have crystal clear reputations. That’s how you’re going to define this kid? It’s pretty irritating, but it is what it is.”

Kaepernick’s parents noted that he had a 4.0 GPA in high school, has never been arrested, and “chose Bible verses and had them inscribed on his biceps.”

“This guy has probably never talked to Colin,” Rick said. “Instead of saying that Colin does all these great things and donates his time to children, this guy is going to make him out like a gangster. Really? I guess you just have to roll with the punches.

“Somebody asked me if I got mad about that. I said no. It’s just a guy and his opinion. I could have an opinion about him, but I’ve never met the guy, so I don’t know if my opinion would be right.”

Whitney’s reaction, in an email to the Sherman Report:

It didn’t occur to me that admitting I’m not a fan of body art would be admitting I don’t like African-Americans. I’m pretty sure the middle-aged women at the gym with barbed-wire tats that I referenced are white. So is Jeremy Shockey. If they were old enough to read, my two adopted African-American daughters would certainly be disappointed to find out I’m a racist.

On the bright side, Tattoo-gate II is apparently good for my social media standing. I’m not much on Twitter, but I picked up about 75 new followers yesterday. I hope they’re not all from San Quentin.

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s parents can’t believe criticism over their son’s arm tattoos [USA Today Sports]