Kaepernick might sit in on next league meeting

The NFL plans to meet with player representatives again early next week, and expects that the players will invite Colin Kaepernick to that meeting, a league spokesperson said Wednesday.

Joe Lockhart, the NFL’s executive vice-president of communications and public affairs, said in a conference call with reporters he does not know whether Kaepernick plans to attend the meeting.

“I expect he will be invited to this meeting,” Lockhart said. “We look forward to him joining the conversation.”

The meeting will be part of the ongoing dialogue between the league, owners of teams, players and the NFL Players Association about support by the league and owners for players’ community activism endeavours.

Representatives of players and owners met Oct.17 at the NFL’s offices in New York. The owners held their regularly scheduled fall meeting later that day and last Wednesday at a Manhattan hotel, and emerged without a requirement for players to stand for the national anthem before games. The NFL has been under intense pressure from the White House and some fans to require players to do so.

Instead, owners and NFL officials spoke of co-operating with the players to provide a platform for the players’ social activism. Owners said they hope that players voluntarily will stand for the anthem, although they added there was no stated or implied agreement with the players that sup- porting their activism would lead to all players standing.

Philadelphia safety Malcolm Jenkins said after the players’ meeting with the owners last week that Kaepernick had been invited to participate. “He was invited, actually,” Jenkins said. “He was invited.”

Asked why Kaepernick didn’t attend, Jenkins said then: “I don’t know. I can’t answer that question.”