Colin Kaepernick, the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has long claimed that he was blackballed by the NFL after his protests against racial injustice and police brutality. However, sports commentator Stephen A. Smith recently expressed that Kaepernick's situation is not solely the league's fault, suggesting that the quarterback played a role in his own exclusion from the sport.
This year marks a decade since Kaepernick first took a knee during the national anthem, a move that sparked widespread debate and controversy across the nation. As he prepares to release his memoir titled The Perilous Fight, Kaepernick continues to assert that he has been systematically excluded from the league, as no team has offered him a contract since his final season in 2016.
Smith acknowledges Kaepernick's talent and right to protest but argues that he must also accept some responsibility for the outcome of his career. On his SiriusXM Radio show, Smith reflected on the discomfort Kaepernick's actions caused, stating, "I recall making people very, very uncomfortable with my position in regard to Colin Kaepernick." He emphasized that while Kaepernick was indeed good enough to play in the NFL, his choices have led to his current predicament.
In 2019, the NFL organized a workout for Kaepernick in collaboration with Jay-Z and Roc Nation, inviting all 32 teams to attend. However, Kaepernick's decision to relocate the workout to a high school venue after the NFL denied his request for media access raised eyebrows. Smith pointed out that despite 24 to 26 teams showing interest, Kaepernick's absence from the workout effectively ended his chances of returning to the league.
“At that particular time, I said, ‘Ain’t no way in hell he’s getting back in the NFL. It is over,’” Smith recalled. Nearly eight years later, Kaepernick remains without an NFL contract and has not participated in any team activities since his protests began.
Kaepernick has voiced his belief that the NFL has intentionally kept him out, stating in an interview with NBC News that he no longer watches NFL games. Smith, however, challenges this notion, arguing that while the league may not have actively blackballed him, individual teams and owners have chosen to distance themselves from him. He stated, “You want to say the league is blackballing you? That’s like a league office thing. That’s not the case. The individual teams and owners wanting nothing to do with him? He is absolutely right.”
Smith's criticism of Kaepernick's decision to skip the 2019 workout has been a point of contention, leading to public debates about the quarterback's commitment to returning to the NFL. He believes that Kaepernick's absence from such a significant opportunity was a pivotal moment that sealed his fate in the league. “If Kaepernick really wanted to get back into the NFL in 2019, his best opportunity would have been by showing up for that workout,” Smith concluded.
As Kaepernick's memoir release approaches, the conversation surrounding his legacy and the impact of his protests continues to evolve, highlighting the complexities of race, activism, and professional sports in America.
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