Last Saturday, the NFL’s most controversial quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, participated in a workout to try to spark interest in his employment. So far, no NFL team has reached out to him about a potential job.
Kaepernick has been unemployed for three years. He led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2012 and did quite well as quarterback in 2013, but then his career started to wane. In 2016 he started kneeling during the national anthem as a protest of police brutality. His move angered fans but delighted political pundits who loved his anti-America message. Kaepernick was on his way out of the NFL due to his mediocrity, but the protest made him one of the most famous NFL players in the country. Despite not having a playing job, he was hired as a Nike spokesman.
Throughout the past three years, Kaepernick has claimed that the NFL is racist and has colluded to keep him out of the league. He has also said he still wants to play and that he deserves a chance.
So, the NFL gave him one last week. Kaepernick was provided a private workout and interview to show off his talents. The session was to be taped and made available to every team in the league. At the last minute, however, Kaepernick decided this wasn’t good enough and cancelled the workout. He claimed he wanted his own camera crew to film the workout and to allow press coverage. He rescheduled his own workout at Drew High School in Riverdale, Georgia. Kaepernick showed up to the workout wearing a “Kunta Kinte” T-Shirt, a reference to the defiant slave from “Roots.” The shirt appeared to be yet another stunt by Kaepernick, this time comparing himself to a slave.
The NFL claimed Kaepernick didn’t inform them that he wanted his own camera crew to attend the event until the night before, and they didn’t hear Kaepernick’s press demands until just before the event.
A backlash ensued, and Kaepernick responded by blaming the NFL and telling them to “stop running.”
“I’ve been ready for three years. I’ve been denied for three years,” Kaepernick said. “We all know why I came out here today and showed it today in front of everybody. We have nothing to hide, so we’re waiting for the 32 owners, 32 teams, Roger Goodell, all of them to stop running. To stop running from the truth. To stop running from the people. We’re out here. We’re ready to play. We’re ready to go anywhere.”
Even with Kaepernick’s political stunt, NFL teams still had access to his workout video. So far, according to ESPN, no team has reached out to the former quarterback.
“The fact that the NFL tried to spark interest in Kaepernick last week, and could not, and that his reps made sure that video of the workout was delivered to every team, are just the latest signs that the chances are bleak that a team will step forward and sign him,” wrote ESPN senior writer Adam Schefter. “Some sources speculated that there had been teams interested in making a move with Kaepernick, and could in the weeks after his workout. But nothing has materialized, and nothing is expected to at this time.”