The failed quarterback and leftwing activist who used his influence in the NFL to trash America and bend the knee is now pleading for an opportunity to play football in the NFL again.
In an episode of the I AM ATHLETE podcast that aired Monday, Colin Kaepernick tells retired NFL players Chad Johnson, Adam “Pacman” Jones, and Brandon Marshall that he has been training for the past five years to make a return to the league and is willing to accept a “back up position” to prove he deserves another chance.
“I know I have to find my way back in. So, if I have to come in as a backup, that’s fine,” Kaepernick, 34, said.
“But that’s not where I’m staying. And when I prove that I’m a starter, I want to be able to step on the field as such,” he added. “I just need that opportunity to walk through the door.”
Kaepernick started just 11 games for the San Francisco 49ers in 2016, but he is more famous for his protests against America and the police and his claims that the NFL is racist than he is for playing football.
After spending a year taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem, Kaepernick rejected an opportunity from the San Francisco 49ers. At the time, he complained that he deserved more money than “backup money” to stay on the team in 2017, igniting protests against the NFL amongst Kaepernick’s supporters who decried the team owners as “racists” or “cowards.”
But the anthem-protesting quarterback said he feels more comfortable returning to the NFL now that the league advocates for social justice and claimed his political activism bolsters profits.
“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,” Kaepernick said. “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 beneficial. If you’re talking about the playing side, come in, [and] let me compete. You can evaluate me from there,” he continued. “The NFL is 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.”
Kaepernick’s plea to the NFL for an opportunity to return comes after he equated the NFL with slavery in his Netflix special in October.
After turning down the 2017 deal with the 49ers, Kaepernick yet to be hosted for an opportunity by an NFL franchise.
“No teams brought me in for a workout,” he said. “No team has brought me in for an opportunity. I had the one meeting with Seattle in 2017. And out of that, [head coach] Pete Carroll said, ‘Hey, he’s a starter; we have a starter.’ And things moved on from there, but they don’t have a starter right now.”