The false ambiguity that abounds among those who breath in current smoke and acrimony surrounding the unemployment status of Colin Kaepernick has had another hole poked in its veneer.
Right now there are nearly ten quarterbacks in the National Football League with a contract that couldnt hold Colin Kaepernicks spit-slobbered mouth guard on the field. Yet they’re employed and Kaep isn’t. At this point in the game, its almost a foregone conclusion to many that Kaep is indeed being blackballed by the NFL because of his protest against police oppression in America. This nefarious conspiracy is being fleshed out with each and every story published.
Colin Kaepernick Blackball Quotes
I remember how disappointed I felt when I heard Jim Harbaugh initially say he didnt respect Kaeps stance back in August 2016. I also recall how much more respect I had when I saw that he was man enough to reconsider his position and support his former player. The was some grown man stuff right there, but if only NFL owners and GMs could find themselves to be as grown.
As the clock keeps ticking, mediocre quarterback after mediocre quarterback is being evaluated, yet Kaepernick cant even get an interview, with only the Seattle Seahawks even giving him a look before claiming he was a starter, thus alluding to him being too good or expensive to be a backup. A complimentary diss is a complimentary diss, and a complimentary no is still a no.
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In a league that has a big problem with sexual assault, domestic violence, drug abuse and performance-enhancing drugs, none of those issues have ever caused a player to forfeit his career. Make no mistake, there are a few predatory and abusive monsters whose misdeeds were forgiven as long as they could help the team.
Yet, a man exercising his First Amendment Right is clearly being ostracized.
His saga continues amid a minefield of false innuendo and rumor-mongering. Its a good thing there are actually some genuinely conscientious Americans that work in the NFL who are willing to speak out on his behalf. About a week ago, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who was in staunch opposition to Kaepernicks protest, has said that he belongs in the league.
Former NFL head coach Chip Kelly went all in for Kaep during an appearance on NFL writer Adam Shefters podcast. Here are a few excerpts:
Kap was awesome.
At the beginning of the year, he made a stance in terms of what he believes is right. We recognized and supported his ability to do that. But he never brought that into the locker room. We had a meeting the day after the Green Bay game that he did it in the preseason, and he explained to all the players his thought process and the mindset of what he was doing. There were some players that agreed with him and there were some players that didnt agree with him. But after that point, we heard from the outside about what a distraction it is, except those people werent in our locker room and it never was a distraction. And Kap never brought that and turned it into a circus or whatever people think.
[He] came to work everyday extremely diligent in terms of his preparation, in terms of his work ethic in the weight room, in terms of his work ethic in the meeting room.
I really enjoyed Kap. Ive talked to Kap maybe three or four times since we both left San Francisco. I know hes working out hard in New York now. I think hes a really good person and a really good player, and I really enjoyed coaching him.
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Not only does all the data in favor of common football sense point to the fact that Kaepernick should be in the NFL and leading a team, but two former head coaches and a Pro Bowl quarterback who opposes his protest, also agree that Kaep should be in the league.
We can go back and forth all we want, but unless youre finally willing to at least admit that the data seems to suggest Kaeps unemployment is political, then theres very little that we need to discuss.
