The NFL Versus Kaepernick

As the calendar has shifted to the month of June, teams in the National Football League are in the midst of OTAs. For the most part the rosters are set with training camps in the NFL scheduled to begin in July. But one man who has yet to find himself a team to play for in 2017 is former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick made waves last year when he decided not to stand during the national anthem as he was protesting in order to shed some light on police brutality in the United States. Kaepernick had those who supported him, while he had folks who were against him as well. Kaepernick and the 49ers mutually agreed to part ways following the season. But when free agency began in March, Kaepernick was not a sought after player, and three months later he is still unemployed. Last year saw some anonymous front office personnel in the NFL refer to Kaepernick as a “traitor” for his stance, while some others are weary of a potential distraction. But however people want to spin it, Kaepernick is still an unemployed NFL player and it stems from the league’s hypocrisy.

When Kaepernick made his decision to not stand during the national anthem last year, he made it clear that he was doing it in order to bring attention to police brutality against minorities in the United States. Kaepernick’s critics immediately went off of the deep end to claim that he was disrespecting the military, while some police organizations publicly denounced him. This set off a national debate, but unfortunately the majority of the rhetoric was centered around Kaepernick’s alleged disrespect to the American flag and the military, but not the situation at hand which is police brutality.

Kaepernick knew that once he took his stance that he could be a man without a country as only a handful of players in the National Football League made gestures of solidarity alongside him, while no superstars or “faces of the league” joined in. And as much as the NFL might not want to come out and admit it, they’ve blackballed Kaepernick.

Recently in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, New York Giants co-owner John Mara talked about potential fan backlash from signing Kaepernick. Mara claimed that he received numerous letters from Giants fans letting him know that they would not support the team or come to MetLife Stadium if they had a player do what Kaepernick did. And in discussing this Mara officially let the cat out of the bag as he let it be known what anyone with half a brain knew all along, but the National Football League was unwilling to admit to.

Kaepernick is not the first professional athlete to speak out on social issues, nor will he be the last, but the National Football League’s way of dealing with it is to attempt to make things quietly go away.

In 2010, quarterback Tim Tebow was a first-round pick of the Denver Broncos after winning a Heisman Trophy collegiately with the Florida Gators, while also helping them win a national title. Former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels reached when he drafted Tebow who was scouted as a potential third-round pick in the first round, but he was brought in for his leadership and his ability to win. However the Broncos would fire McDaniels with three games remaining in the 2010 National Football League season which put Tebow’s status in limbo.

In 2011, former Broncos quarterback John Elway became the team’s executive president of football operations. Elway hired Fox to be the Broncos head coach and neither man was sold on Tebow’s ability to be a starting quarterback in the National Football League due to his unorthodox throwing motion and inaccuracy. The Broncos began 2011 with a record of 1-4 and fans were clamoring to see Tebow start. Elway and Fox were reluctant to let Tebow start, but they ultimately gave in just so that they could tell the Broncos fan base that “I told you so” as they expected him to struggle.

However what ensued was a magical journey as Tebow led the Broncos on five comeback victories in the regular season, while leading an upset victory over the defending AFC Champions in the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Game. But with Elway still not being sold on Tebow, and quarterback Peyton Manning becoming a free agent, Tebow was traded to the New York Jets following the season. And after Tebow spent time with the Jets, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles, he was out of the National Football League all together after 2015.

Since that time Tebow has changed sports as he is now playing baseball in the minor-league system of the New York Mets as the National Football League turned their back on him.

Tebow only had a career completion percentage of 47.9%, but he was 8-6 as a starter. However the real reason why Tebow is not currently on a National Football League roster has nothing to do with his ability on the field as it is more about him being outspoken about his religious faith. Tebow is a firm believer in Christianity and he isn’t afraid to spread that message to teammates, fans, and the media. Tebow is a very polarizing figure, but some people around the league deem him as a distraction due to all of the media attention that he received. But at the end of the day quarterbacks in the NFL are judged by wins and losses. And although that it isn’t pretty, Tebow will get wins; the NFL has closed the door on him.

In 2012, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe publicly expressed his support of same-sex marriage. In eight years with the Vikings, Kluwe set a franchise record which still stands as he averaged 44.4 yards per punt. Kluwe was 31-years of age at the time of his comments on same-sex marriage, and never played in the NFL again as he was unofficially shunned away.

In 2013, Missouri Tigers defensive end/outside linebacker Michael Sam was the Southeastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year as he led the teams in sacks with 11.5. For years the SEC has been the best conference in college football and for a player to be acknowledged as the league’s best defender is a true honor. When that college football season ended, Sam appeared to be a lock to be a top-15 selection in the 2014 National Football League Draft due to his pass rushing ability. However in February 2014, Sam publicly announced that he was a homosexual, and unfortunately for him, his draft stock immediately plummeted.

Sam went from being a first-round pick to almost not being drafted at all as it took a compensatory pick by the St. Louis Rams at the end of the seventh and last round of the National Football League Draft for him to hear his named called. Typically a defensive player of the year from the Southeastern Conference warrants a first-round selection, while some of Sam’s teammates during his time at Missouri which includes New York Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson, Denver Broncos outside linebacker Shane Ray and New England Patriots defensive end Kony Ealy were all taken in the first, two rounds of the draft.

In four preseason games with the Rams in 2014, Sam tallied 6 sacks, but he still was unable to make their roster out of training camp which led to his release. After Sam’s release from the Rams, Sam was picked up by the Dallas Cowboys who after only tallying 34 sacks in 2013 needed all of the pass rushing help that they could get in regards to rushing the passer. However Sam never appeared in a game for the Cowboys, and would have to pursue his professional football career in the Canadian Football League in 2015 with the Montreal Allouettes, while he has never appeared in an NFL game.

I cannot forget about the National Football League turning their back on former Washington Redskins tight end Jerry Smith. From 1965-1977, Smith was one of the best players of that era and a dependable pass catching option for Redskins quarterbacks such as Sonny Jurgensen and Billy Kilmer. When Smith retired from the NFL, his 421 receptions and 60 receiving touchdowns were both all-time records for a tight end. However when it comes to enshrinement for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Smith is constantly looked over.

There was also the case of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice who the National Football League banished in 2014. In February 2014, video surfaced showing Rice having an argument with his then fiancee Janay Palmer at an Atlantic City casino. Rice and Parker entered an elevator, however when they got out Rice was dragging Parker out as she appeared to be unconscious. Initially Rice was suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for just two games in spite of the fact that he and Palmer let him know exactly what happened. However just before Rice was set to be reinstated by the league, TMZ released a video from inside of the elevator showing Rice actually strike Palmer. The NFL would panic due to the public outrage and suspend Rice indefinitely. Rice never played in the NFL again, as he was now the guy that no team wanted any part of.

And this is now what Kaepernick has to deal with as his career in the National Football League has more than likely concluded. Teams are going to make every excuse under the sun as to why they won’t sign Kaepernick, but we all know that he hasn’t found a home as teams are worried about some fan backlash. However instead of worrying about potential backlash from some fans, teams in the NFL need to take a look at the facts.

Kaepernick is 28-30 as a starter with the majority of his losses coming over the last two seasons as the 49ers organization was in complete turmoil. Kaepernick has had to play for a different head coach and offensive coordinator in each of the last three years, while the talent around him in San Francisco diminished greatly since he helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl at the conclusion of the 2012 National Football League season. And in spite of that Kaepernick has still been able to maintain a career completion percentage of nearly 60%.

Since Kaepernick decided not to stand for the anthem, he has also become extremely active in the community. Kaepernick sent a plane full of food, water, and relief supplies to those people that have been starving in Somalia. Kaepernick has donated $50k to the Meals on Wheels program. Kaepernick has also donated his time and money to various youth groups in the United States such as Black Youth Project 100, but this effort by him has been put on the back burner by those who still want to refer to him as a “traitor”, or a “distraction” for not standing for the national anthem. However any other player in the National Football League that would have made half of the effort in the community that Kaepernick has over the past nine months would have been the unanimous winner of the league’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award which doesn’t apply to him since he used his platform as a professional athlete to speak out against police brutality and social injustice in the United States.

And it’s sad since Kaepernick cannot even got a job in the National Football League as a backup quarterback; especially since there are so many crappy quarterbacks in the league that are actually starting. Recently the Seattle Seahawks brought Kaepernick in for a visit, but decided not to sign him as head coach Pete Carroll feels that he is still a starter in the NFL. But even with that it would not hurt the Seahawks to have a quality backup behind quarterback Russell Wilson as Kaepernick continues to be shutout by the league; especially since he is willing to be a backup.

So unfortunately for Kaepernick he took a chance to make an impact for people, but paid the personal price for his bravery. Kaepernick isn’t the first and he won’t be the last as he simply tried to become a voice for voiceless while attempting to make the United States a better place for them to live in.

Source: Pro-football-reference.com