Why NFL’s Colin Kaepernick Isn’t Playing Anymore

It’s a dead horse that people keep beating. But in the defense of those that haven’t let go of the matter yet, it’s usually because those who want to defend Colin Kaepernick, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers, don’t want to accept that the guy doesn’t want to play in the NFL.

Was Kaepernick blacklisted? Yeah, without a doubt. But does anyone even bother to ask why, or do they just assume? Those that want to say that he was unjustly let go from his contract need to remember that living in a fantasy world is all fine and good when one has the time, but here in the real world, it’s necessary to remember that Kaepernick walked out on a team that was already willing to let him go.

The reason he’s reviled by many and glorified by others isn’t in question and never has been…well, at least not entirely. But the fallout from his actions and his words have become the stuff of gossip, rumor, and many, many negative emotions that people want to cover with a big smile and the belief that they’re not making a big mistake by supporting someone seeking to right a wrong.

Was Kaepernick was In the Wrong?

It should be fairly obvious, but to be certain, there are always going to be those that will stick up for people who claim to be activists, especially now in this day and age when activism is the ‘in’ thing because it always means that people are speaking up for the people. And if you believe that one then you’d believe that the summer of 2020 really was “the summer of love”. But if you need further convincing that Kaep was in the wrong, let’s examine a couple of points.

1. Getting paid to be an activist is one thing, as is exercising your freedom of speech. But unless you’re being paid to be an activist and are on the clock at all times, then when an NFL player hits the field, they’re on the clock, so to speak, and it’s time to get to work, whatever that might entail. Wouldn’t it be nice if the rest of us could just stand up and protest for what want whenever we want? Oh, wait, we’d get fired. Oh, right, Kaep was released. Ain’t that just a cryin’ shame.
2. Protesting against police brutality is definitely worth the breath that’s given to it but antagonizing all police by using one’s very noticeable and public platform to wear socks featuring pigs dressed as police officers says more about the lack of respect of Kaepernick than any brutality that police officers may or may not have been guilty of. Labeling all police officers as pigs is definitely antagonizing the police force, which is easy for someone in Kaep’s privileged status.
3. Let’s take a look at Kaep’s career and notice something interesting that his supporters tend to scoff at as they dismiss it so easily. He was on his way out to begin with, especially since he’d been benched in favor of Blaine Gabbert. Yeah, that’s kind of like being benched in high school for the five-foot-tall bookworm that couldn’t throw a wad of paper into a trashcan five feet away. No offense to Gabbert, but the guy still isn’t in the same league as a lot of quarterbacks, which means that Kaep was even lower since he was losing his starting position to the guy.

You put these all together, they provide a pretty interesting picture of someone who wasn’t all about making his disdain for police and the national anthem public until his career was about over. In case anyone missed it, yes, he wanted the attention, and once he got it, then he HAD to be about that life.

The Dreaded Blacklisting of Colin Kaepernick

This is pretty funny, and I’ll get to why that is in a minute since the whole idea that Kaepernick was blacklisted, admittedly, from the NFL really falls on his shoulders. Again, his followers will scoff and say that this isn’t the way things are at all. But seriously, it is, and it has been for a while. People might want to think he’s a goody-goody activist and that’s fine, but he’s had to live up to the reputation he created for himself, which is more than he did on the field.

Let’s hear all the Niners fans because one has to know it’s coming, “We’ve got five Super Bowl rings!.” Excuse me while I go laugh for five seconds, one for each ring that Kaepernick didn’t contribute to. In fact, the guy had a couple of chances to go the distance, and admittedly he did manage to get to the big game once, but the Baltimore Ravens shut that attempt down. They also had a chance to go the big game in the 2012-13 season, but Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks said “Nope” to that chance, as many Hawks fans still recall. Could Kaep run and gun? Well, he could run, that much is true. But when it came to gunning, his cannons are spitting blanks at this time. But he was blacklisted, and there are a couple of reasons that have nothing to do with his limited playing ability, and those are:

1. It has nothing to do with race, it has everything to do with attitude. The NFL is a sport, but it’s also a business, and for a business to run, every part has to work together in harmony, and there’s no guarantee that even if he did get signed, that Kaep wouldn’t use his activism to cause further unrest. He’s become labeled as a cancer to the locker room, and at this point no self-respecting coach wants some high-priced crybaby in the locker room spreading discord with every breath.
2. He wants the kind of money that a starting quarterback would get when the truth is that he’d be a second-stringer at best. The Seahawks might have actually considered him for a brief period of time, and how appropriate would that have been to be backup for none other than his NFC rival, Russell Wilson. But the Denver Broncos were ready give Kaep a contract, and he wanted nothing to do with it. To be sure, it’s not certain how serious the contract as, but it was a chance to play at least, and Kaep didn’t care to make a move.
3. The whole snafu that occurred when the NFL was ready to give him another shot and have scouts on hand to see if he was worth their time didn’t help. When he changed the venue, whether it was at the last moment or not, it made things clear; he was there to play games, just not the one he was supposed to be focusing on.

The real reason Kaepernick isn’t playing anymore

One could go on for days on end about Colin Kaepernick and the real reasons he’s not playing in the NFL at this time. But the point is, his followers and supporters won’t bother to listen, since they’re convinced that everything he does is right, even when it’s absolutely pointless. Kaepernick isn’t playing because he’s no longer good enough and that is one of the biggest reasons his nonsense started up in the first place.