USA TODAY International Edition
Kaepernick starting is bigger than just football
Chip Kelly has declared that his decision to put Colin Kaepernick back into the starting lineup was strictly about football. If only it were that simple. Sure, football is reason enough. The San Francisco 49ers coach needs some type of movement to change the fortunes of his moribund offense. The prospect of Kaepernick, 28, recapturing the magic he had while quarterbacking the Niners to the Super Bowl in the 2012 season is one kind of hope.
But this is so much bigger than that.
This is not the same Kaepernick from four years ago. He’s Captain Protest now, the NFL’s most polarizing player. A leader or a pariah, depending on one’s world view, in exercising his First Amendment right to first sit and now kneel for the national anthem.
And now that he’s the starter again, I guess he’s really free to speak his mind.
Kaepernick’s bold statement to protest social inequalities, including too many cases of police brutality against African Americans, lit a match to America’s consciousness.
Excerpts from just a few of the hundreds of emails that flooded my inbox in recent weeks from those weighing in:
If he does not like this country, have him get the hell out.” If I owned the 49ers, he would’ve been cut.”
Your parents raised a friggin idiot.” The NFL should make sure he never plays another game!” I’ll be sure to ‘ sit out’ his games this year.”
You just created occupational suicide, Dumbass.”
I am disgusted with you. He should not call himself an American and neither should you.”
Your support of him should make USA TODAY remove you from your job!!”
Go back to Africa.” With so many viewing Kaepernick’s American stand as unpatriotic or an intentional slight to the brave military members that defend this nation, it’s easy to imagine the intense sentiments wishing he falls on his Afro and fails when he runs the offense Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
By the same token, with sales of Kaepernick’s jerseys going through the roof, there are undoubtedly many people in this polarized nation who are pulling for him to tap his inner Tom Brady and throw for 400 yards — for reasons that have nothing to do with football.
So here we are at the intersection of sports and sociology. As a symbol, Kaepernick inspired a movement that has led to high school players and college band members taking a knee for the anthem, not to mention various expressions and efforts by NFL brethren and others across the sports world.
But as a quarterback, can he still inspire an offense?
It’s great that we’re about to find out something about the American way, thanks to opportunity. So much for all of the soothsayers who predicted his career was over weeks ago, that perhaps he wouldn’t survive the cut to the final 53- man roster. In your face. Kelly had to wait on this decision, not so much for the furor to subside but because Kaepernick has had three surgeries since last November ( shoulder, thumb, knee) and needed to regain his health and strength and improve his conditioning. Now maybe we’ll see whether Kelly — who had flurries of success with quarterbacks Michael Vick and Nick Foles during his Philadelphia Eagles tenure — truly has the creative offense that can best take advantage of Kaepernick’s multidimensional skills. A key for Kaepernick will be to demonstrate whether his strong arm can be consistently accurate.
When it comes to the mental game, Kaepernick might be better than ever, given the ordeal he invited while trying to provide a voice for minorities he thinks are oppressed. The pressure of thirdand- long or hecklers at a road game probably pales in comparison to sticking your neck out in the name of effecting serious social change.
Surely he has learned a few things through all of this — like there’s no reason to wear socks depicting police as pigs when you’re trying to foster an environment of understanding.
At least Kelly, who publicly supported Kaepernick’s right to protest, finally squashed the theories that the quarterback’s social stance would keep him off the field.
Of course, if Kaepernick hits the open market, there could be another round of blacklist speculation. Kaepernick just signed a restructured contract that would relieve the 49ers of a massive financial hit if the quarterback suffered a season- ending injury.
To his credit, Kelly insists the contract didn’t factor into his decision, which might indicate a difference with Niners general manager Trent Baalke, who’s suspected to be a less- than- enthusiastic supporter of Kaepernick.
Consequently, it’s foolish to predict the 49ers’ future with Kaepernick as predetermined, especially because he has a chance to prove he still has a dynamic skill set.
Remember, a few weeks ago many thought he would never play another down with the team. Yet here he is, positioned as a game- changer in more ways than one.
Not only might Kaepernick revive his career, but, to the chagrin on his haters, he also might even expand his platform for social change.