On February 3, 2013 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, Beyoncé gave a scintillating Super Bowl halftime performance. Once the second half of the game got underway, the Baltimore Ravens scored a touchdown to add to their lead. Moments later, the Superdome experienced a power outage. After a 34 minute delay, the power was restored. San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, was staring at a 28-6 deficit.
Displaying tremendous passing and running skills, Kaepernick helped his team close the gap. Late in the game trailing 34-29, Kaepernick had one last chance, but his pass landed incomplete in the end zone as his team fell short of winning the Super Bowl. The following season Kaepernick led his team to a 12 win 4 loss season. The 49ers advanced to the playoffs, and fell one game short of a return trip to the Super Bowl.
On July 14, 2014, Eric Garner was killed by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo after being placed in a choke hold. John Crawford was shot dead on August 5, 2014 by police after being seen with a toy gun. Unarmed teenager Michael Brown was killed on August 9, 2014 by Officer Darren Wilson. On November 23, 2014, 12 year old Tamir Rice was shot by a police officer after being spotted carrying a toy gun. Freddie Gray is arrested in Baltimore on April 12, 2015 and dies after sustaining injury in police custody. In 2016 this pattern continued between African-American men and law enforcement. During an NFL football game in late August of 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem. When asked about his actions, Kaepernick gave a direct answer. “I’m not going to stand or show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave,” Kaepernick told NFL media.
The decision to sit during the national anthem came with backlash from many different angles. It came from military veterans, football fans, team owners, and political figures. After speaking with Green Beret Nate Boyer, Kaepernick decided to adjust his protest. Nate Boyer recommended Kaepernick kneel instead of sitting during the anthem. The Green Beret suggested kneeling during the anthem shows a sign of respect. “Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother’s grave to show respect,” Boyer said. Kaepernick incorporated the kneeling aspect to his protest, but despite the change the backlash continued. Then presidential candidate Donald Trump weighed in after Kaepernick called him “openly racist”. “I think it’s a terrible thing. Maybe he should find a country that works better for him,” Trump stated.
As the season continued, Kaepernick continued his silent protest. NFL players from his team and other teams joined the silent protest by taking a knee during the national anthem. The frustration and outrage continued to come from people who felt Kaepernick was disrespecting our soldiers, the flag, and our country. Despite Kaepernick stating it wasn’t a sign of disrespect and clarifying that it was his way of protesting social injustices, people still thought of his gesture as a sign of disrespect to the flag, the military, and the country. Signs of racial divide developed as people of color could relate to the reasoning, but most people in other ethnic groups couldn’t comprehend Kaepernick’s angle.
Colin Kaepernick, a former starting Super Bowl quarterback, spent the entire 2017 season out of work. Between March 2017 and November 2017, NFL teams signed 42 quarterbacks. Most of them were lesser accomplished quarterbacks and some of them never played in an NFL game. Â The true indicator which showed Kaepernick was getting blackballed took place when Houston Texans star quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his ACL which ended his season.
The Texans were on pace to make a run for the playoffs. It made perfect sense for them to sign Colin Kaepernick. If they sign Kaepernick they’re signing a guy with the identical skill set of their injured quarterback. Instead of signing Kaepernick, the Texans decided to sign Matt McGloin and T.J. Yates. If you look at the five year span of the 3 quarterbacks, T.J. Yates threw 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, Matt McGloin threw 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and Colin Kaepernick threw 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. Kaepernick also ran for an additional 30 touchdowns. Judging by the statistics, who do you think is the better prospect? Despite the alarming difference in talent level, the Houston Texans made a terrible decision. After passing on Kaepernick, the Houston Texans finished the 2017 season losing 8 out of 9 games.
Colin Kaepernick is a gifted athlete who is being blackballed because he stood for a cause he believes in. The NFL Commissioner and team owners deny this fact, but actions speak louder than words. How can a man with so much football talent go 0 for 50 when it comes down to getting employment in the NFL? Kaepernick started the 2018 season off still seeking employment in the NFL. He still remains the most talented free agent quarterback on the market. Another opportunity for the NFL to right a wrong came courtesy of a very unfortunate event. Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith suffered a broken leg on November 18th. He’s ruled out for the rest of the season. The Redskins were in need of a second quarterback. The organization made some calls to free agent quarterbacks, but unfortunately Colin Kaepernick’s phone didn’t ring. The Redskins settled for Mark Sanchez, who the league views as mediocre at best. The signing of Sanchez brought laughter to the world of social media.
Unfortunately, Colin Kaepernick may never throw a pass in an NFL game again. Some question if he still wants to play, but those who are close to him says he wants to come back to the game. Kaepernick’s girlfriend Nessa vented on social media, “Colin trains every day. All the teams know, but they rather keep blackballing him. The league owners and management are the ones who don’t want him to play,†Nessa posted on Twitter. He’s gained the status of being a pioneer because he risked it all for something he believes in. Honestly, I don’t see Colin Kaepernick throwing another pass in the NFL. This is a perfect example of the league commissioner and owners flexing their muscle. It’s sad because as Americans, if we can’t have open dialogue for certain issues, we will never have liberty and justice for all.
– Vince D’Writer
Vince D’Writer was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Purdue University. While working as a Sports Recruiter, Vince D’Writer wrote a how to guide that explain the recruiting process in reference to obtain an athletic scholarship. Developing a passion for writing, Vince D’Writer transitioned to urban fiction.
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