"Begging to be enslaved to a team" - TV presenter calls out Colin Kaepernick for being "desperate" to sign for a franchise
Colin Kaepernick has been trying hard to get himself back into the NFL, but that has not worked out so far. Despite getting a workout with the Las Vegas Raiders, the 34-year-old was not offered a contract.
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Popular conservative host of OutKick Tomi Lahren said that Kaepernick was starting to appear "desparate". She also suggested that the reason for him kneeling was not what he cited:
Kaepernick became the center of attention in the 2016 season when he remained seated on the bench during the USA national anthem and later, knelt during it.
He was then kept out in favor of Blaine Gabbert despite the latter recovering from injuries. Kaepernick was heavily criticized by Donald Trump, then a candidate for Presidency. Some time later, his contract was restructured and the last three years of it were voided.
Prior to the 2017 season, Kaepernick was, seemingly, avoided by teams as less accomplished QBs were picked up in free agency and not him. He hasn't played in NFL since then.
Speaking on the issue, Lahren said:
"Kaepernick didn't start off the season kneeling. He started at sitting the bench when the 49ers made Blaine Gabbert the starter, then, miraculously and all at once, Kaepernick got hit with the oppression bug and turned his bench pouting into a statement on police brutality."
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Lahren said it was weird for Kaepernick to want to be employed by a league whose franchise owners he compared to slave-owners:
"So let's review, bench Kap, pout Kap kneels for injustice, but Kaepernick still maintains he isn't in the NFL because he's oppressed and discriminated against, but that alleged oppression and discrimination has been quite lucrative for him though..."
"He settled his grievance claim with the league with a payout that's rumored to be in the 10s of millions and since has been showered with endorsement deals and a Netflix series, a Netflix series wherein he compared the NFL to slavery. Weird that Kaepernick is now apparently begging to be enslaved to a team, any team. He's that desperate."
Colin Kaepernick called out the NFL for being hypocritical
On the I Am Athlete podcast in April this year, Colin Kaepernick blasted the league for bearing slogans that say 'End Racism' while not giving him the chance to prove that he was NFL material:
"You have 'End Racism' in the back of your end zone. You have 'Black Lives Matter' on your helmet. Everything I've said should be in alignment with what you're saying publicly. It's a $16 billion business. When I first took a knee, my jersey went to No. 1. When I did the deal with Nike, their value increased by $6 billion. Six billion. With a B."
"So if you're talking about the business side, it shows [it's] beneficial. If you're talking about the playing side, come in, let me compete. You can evaluate me from there. The NFL's supposed to be a meritocracy. Come in, let me compete. If I'm not good enough, get rid of me. But let me come in and show you."
Colin Kaepernick is still unsigned, and may never end up back in the league.
If you use any of the quotes above, please credit Tomi Lahren is Fearless, I Am Athlete, and H/T Sportskeeda