Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has become a household name over the last few years, albeit for all the wrong reasons.
Kaepernick is the individual responsible for all of the kneeling happening during the National Anthem at the start of NFL games, a phenomenon that swept through the league and ended up alienating a huge percentage of fans resulting in record lows for both attendance and ratings on television.
The quarterback has had a very difficult time finding any teams who will dare to take him on, thanks in large part to his protests and the baggage that comes with them.
Kaepernick was recently asked by the Seattle Seahawks to stop doing the pre-game protest, a request he refused to oblige. Then the Seahawks delivered a little bad news of their own.
Fox News is reporting:
The Seattle Seahawks reportedly postponed Colin Kaepernick’s trip to a pre-season camp with the team after the embattled quarterback told the team he would not stop his national anthem kneeling protests.
The team is thinking about allowing Kaepernick to try out for a spot on the team but they have not made any decisions, a source told ESPN
Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, was contacted by the Seahawks around two weeks ago to make a trip to the team’s center and practice. A source told ESPN the trip was put off after the Seahawks argued about Kaepernick’s anthem protest.
It’s unclear what day the quarterback was supposed to practice with the team.
The team reportedly asked Kaepernick if he would continue his protest if he was signed to the NFL again and he was “unwilling to give that assurance to them.”
Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem during the 2016 to 2017 season as part of a protest against police brutality while he was with the San Francisco 49ers. Many other NFL players joined his protest, which angered many — most notably President Trump, who said Kaepernick should have been “suspended” for kneeling.
The big issue that Kaepernick continues to miss is not that anyone has a problem with him protesting or expressing his views. That’s a right guaranteed by the First Amendment, one that conservatives vigorously fight for day in and day out.
No, the issue is the timing of his protest. He’s on the clock when he comes out of that tunnel and takes the field. He represents his team and what he does out there reflects on the entire organization.
Disrespecting the flag of our country is a huge insult not only to the liberty this man enjoys — the same freedom that allows him to get paid millions of dollars to play a kid’s game — but is like spitting in the face of all those who fought, bled, and died for that freedom.
If Kaepernick really wants to play professional football, perhaps he should take the professional part more seriously and drop the shenanigans.
