LeBron says Kap is being ‘blackballed’
The NBA’s biggest star has some harsh words for the NFL.
LeBron James said Sunday, in one of his most outspoken interviews in support of Colin Kaepernick yet, that the quarterback has “been blackballed” from the league by owners.
“I love football, but I’m not part of the NFL,” James told ESPN. “I don’t represent the NFL. I don’t know their rules and regulations. But I do know Kap is getting a wrong doing, I do know that. Just watching, he’s an NFL player.
“He’s an NFL player and you see all these other quarterbacks out there and players out there that get all these second and third chances that are nowhere near as talented as him. It just feels like he’s been blackballed out of the NFL. So, I definitely do not respect that.”
Back in 2014, Kaepernick signed a sixyear, $126 million extension with San Francisco after taking the Niners to the Super Bowl.
He opted out of the deal in March, after making headlines for being the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem, a gesture that has swept through the league ever since.
“The only reason I could say he’s not on a team is because the way he took a knee,” James said. “That’s the only reason.”
King James specifically has an issue with the number of other quarterbacks who have had multiple chances to redeem themselves after bad seasons, all while Kaepernick remains unemployed.
“I watch football every Sunday, every Thursday, every Monday night,” James said. “I see all these quarterbacks — firststring, second-team, third-team quarterbacks — that play sometimes when the starter gets hurt or are starters that play. Kap is better than a lot of those guys. Let’s just be honest.”