The controversial Kolin Kaepernick has a right to speak his mind — something he does quite often, but NFL owners also have the right not to sign him to a contract.
Kaepernick’s Twitter feed is a near daily display of activist messages and arguments. Last weekend he retweeted a couple images that compared modern police officers to slave catchers of the past. To some it was a history lesson. To others who see the many honest and fair members of law enforcement that are trying to build a better future, it was an insult.
Even though NFL commissioner Roger Goodell continues to say the quarterback hasn’t been black-balled by the league, that sure seems to be the case. As team after team passes him by, the obvious conclusion is that his high-profile political stances have made him, in the minds of NFL decision-makers, a liability greater than the perceived value he would bring to the team.
Kaepernick first made headlines last season when he the backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers made the decision to start the 2016 season that he was not going to stand for the national anthem before games as a protest against the killings of unarmed black people by police. So he started doing the famous and now iconic posture of taking a knee, which he did for all 16 weeks during the NFL season.
In late May, New York Giants owner John Mara told TheMMQB.com that he and his team heard from fans who would be angry if Kaepernick were added to its roster. Said Mara: “All my years in the league, I never received more emotional mail from people than I did about that issue. ‘If any of your players ever do that, we are never coming to another Giants game.’ It wasn’t one or two letters. It was a lot. It’s an emotional, emotional issue for a lot of people, more so than any other issue I’ve run into.”
Most recently Kaepernick compared police officers to fugitive slave patrolmen after a Minnesota officer was acquitted in the shooting death of a black motorist.
Kaepernick tweeted his displeasure with the verdict, with a graphic reading “You can’t ignore your history — always remember who they are.”
Between the lines, a police badge is shown side-by-side with a “fugitive slave patrol” badge.
But make no mistake, if NFL GMs thought Kaepernick could still play the level he did in 2012 and 2013, he could tweet whatever he wanted.
The bottom line is NFL teams are looking for anyone who can help them win.
Another problem, according to ESPN, is that Kaepernick is looking for a job that would pay in the range of $9 million-$10 million — good range for a starter. But again Kaepernick is considered a good No. 2 who could be signed in the range of $3 million-$5 million plus incentives.
When your perceived-negatives outweigh your perceived-positives though, you’re done. This is pretty much how it works in every profession, let alone one as cutthroat as the NFL.
I still think a team will take a shot with Kaepernick before the 2017 NFL season kicks off in early Sept. once the injuries start rolling in and several teams don’t like what they are seeing with their backups.
If that happens, someone will obviously have to answer to angry fans.
nContact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
