The Saga Of Kaepernick
CK has gone through more media and controversy than almost any other player in NFL history.
Anyone who follows sports has heard of Colin Kaepernick. As quarterback for the SanFrancisco 49ers he was a good player, but not great. With police brutality in the news, Colin Kaepernick decided something needed to change. He started by sitting on the bench while the National Anthem was being played. He and Eric Reid were the first two players to do it. This movement evolved when Kaepernick asked some members of the military what they would prefer he do, and they said kneel.
The kneeling during the anthem swept the league by storm, with Kaepernick as the ring leader. Lots of fans were angry and members within the organizations were too. Kaepernick was cut the next year, though it appeared he could still be a valuable backup and maybe a starter on some teams. The past three seasons he has occasionally made headlines, mostly due to being black-listed by the NFL.
Like any good business, the NFL wants to appear better than they really are, hence the events of the past few weeks. Kaepernick has kept in shape just waiting for his shot and the NFL “gave it to him.” They set up a workout for Kaepernick and invited all 32 teams. Even though any NFL team could work him out at any time, this was still huge news. The NFL presented him with a waiver saying if he got hurt or something that it wasn’t the NFL’s fault, which was pretty reasonable. However, the waiver also including a clause making it impossible for Kaepernick to continue suing the NFL. He obviously did not like this and had to change his venue at the last minute, making it hard for many teams to come see him workout. He still has the right to sue the NFL, and it is becoming more and more apparent that the NFL does not want him to play in their league again.
The footage from the workout shows Kaepernick still having the strong arm that got him into the league in the first place. He was also very accurate throwing to former NFL receivers. However, after what seemed to be an impressive workout from a QB with the size and strength to play in the NFL, no teams came calling. The media has said that no teams have reached out to Keapernick, some owners don’t believe he is worth the baggage that comes with him. NFL fan and former football player, twenty-four-year-old Tommy Neville says, “I think Keapernick has the ability to be one of the best backup QB’s in the league and maybe fight for a starting spot with a few teams, but it wouldn’t make sense to sign him.” He continues, “I would only sign him if I truly believed the pros outweighed the cons, and at this point I don’t think they do.” This idea is fairly uniform among most fans. The caliber of player Kaepernick offers simply isn’t worth all the stuff that comes with him.
