Stephen A. Smith details how Colin Kaepernick snubbed Jay-Z and media's help in bid to make NFL return
Colin Kaepernick has been attempting a return to the NFL for nearly five years. He recently made headlines when he went on the I Am Athlete podcast to tell Brandon Marshall, Chad Johnson, and Pacman Jones that he is willing to be on the roster as a backup if it means getting another chance at the NFL.
This has many media pundits again advocating for Kaepernick's return, citing his humility, but one analyst, in particular, has had enough. Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN's First Take that he was "sick" of the Kaepernick conversation.
Stephen A. started his take by saying that he agreed that the NFL blackballed Kaepernick and that he was talented enough to be on an NFL roster. He pointed out that Kaepernick had not broken any of the NFL's bylaws or other laws.
He outlined how Kaepernick burned his one and only "in" back into the NFL.
“In 2019, after you filed a lawsuit against the National Football League, after you reached a multimillion-dollar settlement, after you made it clear you don’t have any trust for them and they made it clear they have no trust for you...the NFL said we’re gonna conduct a workout. And Colin Kaepernick refused to workout because of some waiver issue, some liability issue.”
Stephen A. laid out how members of the media, including himself and even Jay-Z, who advises the NFL on social justice issues, had advocated for Kaepernick in the league. At that point, Jay-Z and others had helped put tremendous pressure on the NFL, and the workout would've certainly been put under the microscope to ensure fairness.
NFL ratings fine without Colin Kaepernick
Stephen A. Smith pointed out that the NFL is doing just fine without Kaepernick. Ratings were up for the Super Bowl and up 10 percent overall from the year before. He, among others, wondered why any NFL team would invite this "trouble" back into their organization.
In the ensuing discussion on Twitter, user @CashIsCooked pointed out that he believes NFL teams think the risk isn’t worth the reward.
@redincosta @FirstTake @stephenasmith Because half the NFL fan base is still divided on him and unfortunately for him, his talent isn’t worth bringing in for the eventual media whirlwind that will follow. It’s too much risk for not enough reward, especially since we really don’t know what he’s capable of anymore.
Colin Kaepernick may never get another opportunity in the NFL, but there will be people advocating for him until he is too old to succeed. Stephen A. Smith feels that those in the media and Jay-Z had the NFL in a corner. They were put into a spot and offered Kaepernick a workout for all teams because of the pressure from the media, and he declined.
This was the last straw for Smith and many fans. Spurning what was potentially his only chance made many say enough is enough on this matter.
For the foreseeable future, as Stephen A. Smith put it, it seems like Kaepernick will be "doing interviews instead of throwing touchdowns."