Colin Kaepernick says that trying to join the NFL is like slavery. Colin Kaepernick also says he is trying to join the NFL.
Make it make sense.
On Monday, Kaepernick, the former 49er and original anthem-protester, aired a live Instagram video in which he went through throwing drills with Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett.
The significance of this? The live IG video aired as NFL free agency swings into high-gear with the beginning of the legal tampering period. What’s the significance of Kaepernick practicing with a Seahawks receiver? The Seahawks traded their quarterback, Russell Wilson, to the Broncos last week. In addition, the Seahawks were one of the teams to express interest in signing Kaepernick even after he began his anthem protests in 2016.
Does any of this mean Kaepernick will play in the NFL again? No, and it shouldn’t. After all, Kaepernick himself said he felt that the process to join the league was just like slavery.
In the series Colin In Black & White, which Kaepernick narrates, the former 49er appears in a scene where he talks about NFL prospects being “poked, prodded, and examined” for defects before the NFL Draft. The players at the “combine” then leave the NFL field and enter a mid-1800s slave auction where white landowners examine slaves for purchase.
In the scene, Kaepernick says this is how “they” establish a “power dynamic.” The scene closes with the NFL coach and slave auctioneer shaking hands against the backdrop of bonded slaves in an attempt to establish a generational link between the professional athlete selection process and slavery.
So, why would someone who believes the NFL is a slave auction want to rejoin the league? The answer is he probably doesn’t want to. Despite his wild and insane statements about the NFL and slavery, Kaepernick needs the NFL to stay relevant. He exists in the public eye so long as he can cast himself as the brave activist barred from the game he loves by the “racist” league that supposedly doesn’t love him back.
But here’s the thing, the NFL does love him back. They apologized and adopted all of his ideas. The league even gave him a chance to come back in 2019, an opportunity which Kaepernick mocked and squandered by not bothering to show up where the workout was set up.
Kaepernick is 34 years old. Meaning he has probably five more years of workout videos before it becomes too funny and silly looking to put on Instagram.
Until then, the beat goes on.