Colin Kaepernick: Can I Play?

By: Joe Cardoso

The NFL is making money hand over fist, and the players are reaping the benefits of this glorious time. No matter how the game changes, the most important and most popular position in the game is quarterback. It is VERY hard to win a game with a subpar signal caller. It’s not about the money, since everyone is getting paid, it’s about the performance ON the field. Let’s look at some of the guys who are currently employed by NFL teams. There’s Blaine Gabbert, Mike Glennon, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Mark Shancez to name a few. I refuse to believe that the players mentioned above are better FOOTBALL players then Kaepernick.

Yet somehow a guy who played in a Super Bowl and was the darling of the league not too long ago remains unsigned. Colin Kaepernick is, in my opinion, a legit NFL level quarterback. Is he a starter? I’m still not sure, but if you saw the talent he had during the 49ers last season, could you have done any better? His stats improved as the season went on. Kaepernick decided to not sit quietly while injustices went on in this country. His stance was to protest by kneeling during the National Anthem. He refused to show support for a country that he felt was being unfair to minorities and people of color. Funny, one of the thousands of great things about living in this country is being able to do that!
It has been well documented that he put his TIME and MONEY where his mouth is and did so much for so many. We bash this generation and our society for not doing enough for others.

Well the NFL’s treatment of Kapernick won’t encourage other athletes wanting to take a stand against something they believe is wrong and needs to be fixed.
If you look at his stats compared to the current batch of QB’s being signed, his numbers are more than on that level if not better. So why is he still unsigned you ask? It’s quite simple in my opinion, it’s for two reasons. First, the NFL owners, who are majority rich white men, do not want a player who was willing to stand up for what he believes in on their team. They want robots who will fall in line and spit the company line when asked questions. Beat your wife, drive drunk, do drugs, hell SELL drugs no problem. We want you, and we will build a team to take care of that, no biggie. Take a stand on the treatment of other human beings and that’s where we draw the line buddy. Second, I believe race is a factor in his being unsigned. If Colin was white would he still be unsigned?

The league has shown time and time again it values talent above all else, so what’s the deal with Kap getting no love? Team officials say race doesn’t play a factor. Oh really? You sure about that? He gets paid to play football, and you can argue that he should keep his views out of the work place, same way Tom Brady shouldn’t have worn his “make America great again” hat, BUT based on football skills alone he deserves to be playing in the National Football League. Who knows, someone may get hit with a major injury at QB, and that may be when his phone rings.
Let’s all remember how long this thing dragged out when it’s week 6 and he gets a big win on the road for some team. And don’t think for one second that NFL fans won’t still show up and cheer for their team if Kap is signed to their hometown team. Yet another thing that makes this country the greatest country in the world, even with our issues, is we believe in second chances. So where is Colins’ second chance? I’ll wait……