Vick to Kaepernick: Get your hair cut
Michael Vick said there’s a simple step ex-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick can take to prove that he’s serious about playing again in the NFL.
“The first thing we got to get Colin to do is cut his hair,” Vick said on “Speak for Yourself ” on Fox Sports 1 on Monday. “I don’t think he should represent himself in that way in terms of the hairstyle. Just go clean cut. Why not?”
Kaepernick wears a very full Afro.
Kaepernick apparently responded Tuesday by posting on Twitter the definition of Stockholm syndrome, a theory that says those kept against their will begin to identify with the captors.
“Perception and image is everything,” said Vick, a retired quarterback who rehabilitated his career after serving time in jail for involvement in dogfighting. “I love the guy to death, but I want him to succeed on and off the field, and this has to be a start for him.”
On Tuesday, Vick backed down somewhat, saying, “Colin Kaepernick’s hair has nothing to do with him not being on an NFL roster right now. I’m looking forward to seeing him on the field again. Trust and believe what I said was not in malice.”
Kaepernick spent six years with the 49ers — and took them to Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013 — but is now a free agent and has yet to draw interest from another team. That might be related to the decline in his play in recent years, but it also might be connected to Kaepernick’s social activism, most notably his decision to take a knee before the playing of the national anthem at games last season. Cowboys seek Elliott info: Dallas owner Jerry Jones said the team is still gathering details over Ezekiel Elliott’s involvement in an altercation at a Dallas bar, the latest offfield incident for the running back.
Elliott, who already was facing a potential suspension over the NFL’s investigation of a year-old domestic case, was involved in a dispute Sunday night that led to a man getting punched in the nose and being taken to a hospital. Dallas police said the 30-year-old man didn’t know who punched him, and the report does not mention Elliott. Dallas police also are investigating the incident.
Jones said he didn’t want to speculate about a possible suspension. An NFL spokesman said the league is looking into the latest incident “to understand the facts.”
Authorities in Columbus, Ohio, declined to prosecute the Ohio State alum over a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend before Elliott’s first training camp with the Cowboys last year. The NFL’s investigation continued, and the league hasn’t cleared Elliott.
Elliott, 21, also drew unwanted attention last season when he visited a legal marijuana shop before a preseason game in Seattle. Last spring, he pulled down a woman’s shirt during a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
“Like all of us, we do good some days and don’t do good the others,” Jones said. “That’s not to be confused with tolerating bad behavior or illegal behavior. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about just learning that your every move will be scrutinized and how in this day and time, it will be looked at from many vantage points.”
Elliott, who led the NFL in rushing as a rookie and helped the Cowboys to the top seed in the NFC playoffs with a 13-3 record, can get suspended without any convictions.