Spike Lee may be onto something, as its rather inexplicable for Colin Kaepernick to still be without a football team. Has the former 49er been blackballed by the NFL?
On Sunday, the world’s most famous New York sports fan, Spike Lee, made a rather ominous declaration. He inferred that quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who Lee’s New York Jets should sign in his opinion, was being purposefully overlooked by teams because of his figurative stance and literal lack of stance last season.
Is this is ludicrous statement, or is Lee onto something here? Why is Kaepernick, a more than serviceable NFL quarterback, still without a team? Has he been blackballed by the NFL?
Two brothers from New York,Dan Salem and Todd Salem, discuss Colin Kaepernick in today’s NFL Sports Debate.
Todd Salem:
The takeaway, according to Spike Lee, is that Colin Kaepernick would be on an NFL roster right now if not for his kneeling during the national anthem last year. This belief feels both completely insane and utterly predictable at the same time. Let’s take this point by point.
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First, as a Jets fan yourself, do you believe with Lee’s premise that New York should sign him to play quarterback? As an outside observer, he sure seems like the best quarterback on the market and will undoubtedly be better than any rookie in the draft, at least for the next few seasons. Kaepernick is also just 29 years old, with playoff experience already on his resume.
Maybe the Jets aren’t the right landing spot. But, from here I do agree with Lee that Kaepernick not being pursued by any team in free agency is rather suspicious. Like super suspicious. Or, as Lee put it, it “Smells MAD fishy to me, stinks to the High Heavens”.
Which brings me to the final scrap of information here. If this is all true and teams are purposely avoiding Kaepernick because of his actions last season, is that the dumbest thing that has happened in the NFL this year? I’m sure that’s a high bar, but man. If true, that means there are owners in the NFL who know, they know that Colin Kaepernick would make their team better, but they refuse to sign him anyway because he made a statement about something he believed in. Not only is that a cowardly, weasel thing to do, it is also incredibly stupid if a franchise is trying to win football games.
It reminds me of the Ray Rice situation in regards to how Kaepernick is being treated, which is just baffling to think about. Rice seemed to get blackballed from the league, but at least he deserved some level of punishment. With Kaepernick, he’s being blackballed because he was trying to do good and spark change in society; not because he punched out his wife. I mean, NFL owners are just so petty and stupid.
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The only other possibility is that nothing nefarious is happening at all. It’s possible that teams aren’t interested in Kaepernick’s services. He hasn’t been healthy and good in a few years now. Since he opted out of his previous deal, he also isn’t looking for a league-minimum deal by any stretch. Maybe that intersection of circumstances is all that is happening. It’s quite possible, though it feels improbable based on what we know about this league.
Dan Salem:
The NFL and its owners certainly don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt, but I’m willing to afford it to the coaches around the league. At least some of them agree with Kaepernick’s actions of protest, while the majority can’t deny his high ceiling as a football player. He had one great year and more than one good season. Both feel like a lifetime ago, yet the skills remain. I feel similarly about RGIII, who is also without a team. Yet I’d argue that his off field issues were way worse that Kaepernick’s. The bottom line is, neither player ran a traditional offense and neither are traditional pocket passers.
As a Jets fan I like the options Kaepernick would bring to our offense, but a more traditional quarterback is better for the development of everyone else. Teams like New York need a transition guy, because franchise guys aren’t free agents. Reports are the Jets signed Josh McCown to play quarterback, making my point. I’m unsure why Kaepernick is not considering backup jobs, because as a head coach I’d love him in that slot. He offers a nice surprise and new wrinkle for opposing teams to deal with in relief, assuming he can operate the standard offense as well.
Spike Lee isn’t wrong. I’ll admit, I was surprised that Ray Rice got blackballed and I’m kind of surprised the same thing is happening to Colin Kaepernick. He’s talented and has more good football left in the tank. Isn’t he a better backup than Geno Smith? I suppose the Giants don’t think so. I like Geno, but he loses this argument.
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NFL politics make no sense and are even less fair. But talent used to always win, especially if the “transgression” in question was positive in nature. It brought up necessary conversation on a sensitive subject that remains unresolved and has gotten worse. Maybe the fact that he took it back going forward made people wonder. But if Kaepernick is unemployed as the new season gets going in September, you bet he was blackballed. You can also bet he won’t be quiet about it.