Despite suffering the loss of multiple quarterbacks, the Detroit Lions declined to sign national anthem protester Colin Kaepernick and opted to sign two younger players instead.
With starter Matthew Stafford out with a fractured back, and Jeff Driskel also on the injured reserve list, the Lions need to add at least one quarterback. But over the weekend, they picked up two. However, the Lions snubbed Colin Kaepernick despite being one of a handful of teams that sent a representative to the former 49er’s workout in Georgia last month.
Over the weekend, the Lions added to their practice squad Arizona Cardinals’ practice squad member Kyle Sloter, 25, and Joe Callahan, 26. Meanwhile, rookie David Blough started for the Lions on Thanksgiving Day, throwing for 280 yards and two touchdowns.
But the team completely ignored Kaepernick even though they sent a representative to see his workout. Still, Kaepernick did himself no favors with his two most recent acts of protest.
At his workout, for instance, Kaepernick wore a t-shirt with the name of Roots character of Kunta Kinte upon it apparently announcing that he feels he is something akin to a slave. Then, on Thanksgiving Day, Kaepernick proudly announced that he supported the “Unthanksgiving” event of native Americans who blame the country for “genocide” and “theft” of lands.
Spent the morning at the Indigenous People’s Sunrise Ceremony on the 50 year anniversary of the Occupation of Alcatraz. The US government has stolen over 1.5 billion acres of land from Indigenous people. Thank you to my Indigenous family, I’m with you today and always.✊🏽 pic.twitter.com/6cTuktUlQN
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) November 28, 2019
Kaepernick’s recent acts of far-left activism are only the latest examples of his years of agitation.
Only a few months ago, he forced sportswear giant Nike to abandon an American flag-themed shoe because he claimed the historic Betsy Ross flag was somehow a “symbol” of slavery.
He also famously brought the NFL up on charges of “collusion” to keep him from pursuing his NFL career before dropping the whole thing in exchange for a $10 million payoff.
That is not all. When he was still with the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick also wore socks portraying the police as pigs, an act that turned a discussion about occasional police brutality into a blanket statement of hate for all cops regardless of their actions. He said that the U.S. was never great, meaning that he stands against the whole country in general, not just against “racism.” Additionally, Kaepernick has been seen wearing a Fidel Castro t-shirt in celebration of a man who murdered hundreds of thousands of political opponents over the last 50 years. He is also a supporter of the Black Lives Matter, a group many Americans feel is a domestic terror outfit that has been responsible for multiple riots, millions in property destruction, and deaths across the U.S.
This history of extreme statements caused former Jets head coach Rex Ryan to note that no NFL coach wants that sort of mess brought into their locker room.
“The NFL doesn’t have to have this kid play,” Ryan said on ESPN after Kaepernick’s November workout stunt. “I’m sorry. What I see on the video is look, if you want to break down the little video, you see, you see, is he throwing the ball behind him, too much air on his deep ball, yeah, all those type of things. But that wasn’t about this. As a coach, you don’t want this circus in the locker room. And, I’m sorry, but that’s what it is. Is it going to be worth all the extra media? You’re going to have a backup quarterback having press conferences.”
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