The 49ers starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick looks more like a prison inmate than an NFL quarterback, according to one sports columnist.

AOL Fanhouse’s David Whitley wrote a column this week in which he bashed Kaepernick’s inked-up appearance, saying he looks like he “just got paroled.”

“Approximately 98.7 percent of the inmates at California’s state prison have tattoos,” Whitley estimated. “I’m also pretty sure less than 1.3 percent of NFL quarterbacks have tattoos. There’s a reason for that,” he wrote.

“NFL quarterback is the ultimate position of influence and responsibility. He is the CEO of a high-profile organization, and you don’t want your CEO to look like he just got paroled,” the column stated.

The comments have been criticized as everything from lazy to racist.

Kaepernick’s parents, who adopted him as a baby, told USA Today that the remarks were shortsighted and disrespectful, especially as their son is known as a polite, dedicated and straightlaced young player.

“It annoyed me,” Teresa Kaepernick, Colin’s mother 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,” she said.

Whitley’s column goes on to concede that Kaepernick, who has logged an impressive performance filling in for injured quarterback Alex Smith, is known to be “humble” and has “never been to prison.”

Calling himself a “dinosaur” who simply dislikes tattoos in any form, he writes “I realize not all NFL quarterbacks are pristine. Ben Roethlisberger has a ‘COURAGE’ tattoo on the right side of his upper body.”

Kaepernick’s tattoos include Bible verses, while the top of his right bicep features the word “faith.”

But because Kaepernick is half African-American, the column also smacked of racism to Jason McIntyre of Bigleadsports.

“What’s rattling around in Whitley’s empty head: Hey! Who are these black guys with their jailhouse tats taking over at QB! That’s a position only for clean cut white guys,” he wrote.

Kaepernick has not responded to the controversy.

But Whitley attempted to deflect racism allegations 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,” he said.

McIntyre’s biggest criticism of the column, in the end, was what he called its “truly awful, unbelievably lazy,” reportage.

The comment was echoed by CBS blogger Ryan Wilson, who said the columnist “has a track record of writing columns that are narrow-minded, simple, and ultimately offensive.”