Kaepernick support is unwavering
Even though he’s not playing football, Colin Kaepernick remains front and central in the daily NFL headlines.
On Wednesday, protesters gathered at league headquarters in New York City, demanding that Commissioner Roger Goodell intervene in the former 49ers’ situation. The NAACP also called for a meeting with the commissioner, and delivered a scathing letter. Baseball great Henry Aaron weighed in on Kaepernick’s behalf, saying he was getting a “raw deal.”
And even aspiring politician Kid Rock had a take on the situation, interrupting a concert at the Iowa State Fair to utter these immortal words: “Football’s about ready to start. ... You know what? F— Colin Kaepernick.”
It’s a polarizing issue in a polarized country on a polarized planet.
Increasingly, though, folks seem to agree that Kaepernick is being excluded, or blackballed, by NFL owners because of his highly controversial and public protests during the national anthem last season. Some argue he’s not signed because he’s no longer good
enough. But the numbers don’t add up when you compare Kaepernick with others who have been signed. Many speculate that conservative owners and GMs don’t want the public relations headache and don’t want to upset fans who felt Kaepernick was disrespecting the flag, the country, the police and the military.
Of course, this national story started right here in the Bay Area, where Kaepernick first sat through the anthem, saying he wanted to shed light on police brutality in black communities. Then he knelt. And now he stands on the outside of the NFL, looking in, as an unsigned free agent.
But the longer he remains in limbo, the louder the chorus of support gets. Baseball’s longtime home run king, Aaron, joined in Wednesday.
“I think he’s getting a raw deal,” said Aaron in an interview with AllThatTV that was posted on ESPN.com. “I’ve been watching football for a long time, and I think that if you look at all the quarterbacks in the league right now ... I don’t think anyone else in the league can do the things he can do.
“I just wish somebody would open up and give him a chance.”
I asked 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan if he thought Kaepernick was getting treated fairly, and he semi-sidestepped the question, understandably. He and new general manager John Lynch made it clear in February that they were not going to re-sign the quarterback.
“I only can speak for ourselves,” said Shanahan. “You know, when we looked into re-signing Colin it wasn’t about any of that stuff. It’s the direction we wanted to go with our offense and with our team . ... I can’t speak for anyone else though.”
Meanwhile, that large group of protesters, representing more than a dozen organizations, gathered outside league headquarters to have their voices heard.
And, yes, the NAACP is hoping to meet with Goodell to discuss the issue.
On its website, the civil rights organization said NAACP interim president and CEO Derrick Johnson’s letter to Goodell included the following:
“Last season, Mr. Kaepernick chose to exercise his first amendment right by protesting the inequitable treatment of people of color in America. By quietly taking a knee during the national anthem, he was able to shine a light on the many injustices faced by people of color, particularly the issue of police misconduct toward communities of color. As outlined in your office’s public statement, this act of dissent is well within the National Football League’s stated bylaws. Yet, as the NFL season quickly approaches, Mr. Kaepernick has spent an unprecedented amount of time as a free agent, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that this is no sheer coincidence. No player should be victimized and discriminated against because of his exercise of free speech — to do so is in violation of his rights under the Constitution and the NFL’s own regulations.”
Will someone in the NFL step in and sign Kaepernick? Or will he go down in history like baseball’s Curt Flood? He took on Major League Baseball and helped pave the way for free agency, even though it effectively ended his career.