It should be very clear by now that protesting publicly and prominently is very important to Colin Kaepernick. That’s why he began kneeling during the Star-Spangled Banner even knowing it could negatively affect his career, why he continued doing so even as the demonstration sparked a vast national controversy, and why he has declined to denounce the practice even as he has lingered in unemployment for the past year.
With that in mind, it seems quite unlikely that Kaepernick will suddenly forget his protest if he ever gets another NFL job. And yet according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Seattle Seahawks recently postponed a scheduled workout with Kaepernick after the quarterback declined to quit kneeling. Via ESPN:
After arranging for Colin Kaepernick to work out for the Seattle Seahawks this week, team officials postponed the trip when the quarterback declined to stop kneeling during the national anthem next season, a league source told ESPN on Thursday.
Seattle still is considering bringing in Kaepernick for a tryout, and no decisions are final, a source said.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport sorta-kinda confirmed Schefter’s report, tweeting that Seahawks decision-makers “want Colin Kaepernick to consider how he wants to proceed on everything.” SB Nation, meanwhile, reports that the Seahawks told Kaepernick not to bother attending the workout if he planned to continue kneeling.
Between Kaepernick’s ongoing unemployment and the fact that safety and fellow protester Eric Reid can’t find a job this offseason, it has become increasingly clear that NFL teams simply do not want to roster players who will kneel during the national anthem. The days of anonymous sources claiming Kaepernick’s issues were football-related are long gone. This is all about the protest.
Based on Schefter’s report, it seems that the Seahawks haven’t entirely ruled out bringing aboard Kaepernick, but if the kneeling was a deal-breaker this time (as well as over the past year), you have to imagine it will be again next time. And if a team that plays in a relatively liberal city, is known for its activism, has plenty of veteran leadership and lacks a backup quarterback won’t sign Kaepernick? He’s probably not getting a job anytime soon.
[ESPN]
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