After former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick held a workout on Saturday ostensibly to impress NFL teams so he would be hired to play for them, sports analysts from ESPN and CBS speculated that Kaepernick shouldn’t wait by his phone — no one is going to call him.
As Cleveland.com reported, speaking on Monday’s edition of “Golic and Wingo,” ESPN’s Mike Golic opined, “Does Colin Kaepernick really want to play football? … As much as everybody’s applauding you for taking over the narrative, you cost yourself. If your goal was to play football, in my opinion, you cost yourself by not performing in front of 25 teams. Congratulations, you controlled the narrative and then you basically said the NFL should stop running scared afterward. And I don’t think there is a team out there that is going to bring you in and sign you.”
Former Jets head coach Rex Ryan added on ESPN’s “Get Up,” “The NFL doesn’t have to have this kid play. I’m sorry. What I see on the video is look, if you want to break down the little video , you see, you see, is he throwing the ball behind him, too much air on his deep ball, yeah all those type of things. But that wasn’t about this. As a coach, you don’t want this circus in the locker room. And, I’m sorry, but that’s what it is. Is it going to be worth all the extra media? You’re going to have a backup quarterback having press conferences.”
On CBS, “The NFL Today” host James Brown stated before Sunday’s game:
Colin Kaepernick missed the opportunity, both to return to play and more meaningfully to further impact social justice on the broader and the bigger platform of the NFL. It’s also abundantly clear, however, that there is mutual distrust in the relationship between Kaepernick and the league, its office, owners and teams as evidenced by yesterday’s fiasco. But that notwithstanding, it was an opportunity, no matter how you cut it, to build a bridge toward a return to the league. 25 teams expressed their interest to come see the workout and he didn’t take advantage of it. Now, history has shown that to move forward, it is most effectively done inclusively to move from protest to progress and this was a moment missed.
As noted by The Daily Wire on Sunday, ESPN’s Stephen Smith blasted Kaepernick, asserting:
So, let me get this straight. Colin Kaepernick has been working out all of this time. Him, people in this camp, his … loved ones – everybody talking about, “He wants to play football! He wants to play football! He’s ready to play! Just give him the chance!”
So, what does the NFL do, recognizing that teams need a shield because they need something to hide behind because they know that, guess what, “If we bring this brother in for a workout and we don’t like him or we don’t want him, who knows what we’re going to get accused of? We need cover.” So the NFL provides that …
Colin Kaepernick wants to change the venue; Colin Kaepernick wants his own receivers; Colin Kaepernick wants to video things himself; Colin Kaepernick wants the media. This Colin Kaepernick, media can’t find him! He ain’t done no interviews; he ain’t talked to nobody; media can’t find him – but he wants the media available now. You see? You see? He don’t want to play; he wants to be a martyr. But guess what? It ain’t working this time.