The NFL sponsored workout for Colin Kaepernick turned out badly this weekend. It’s clear that neither side trusts the other and for good reason.
Many have asked why the NFL did this in the first place. My guess is that Jay-Z, a Kaepernick supporter, lobbied Goodell. So the commish reluctantly agreed, but only on his terms. They gave the other side a take-it-or-leave-it offer, with a response time of two hours.
They figured Kaepernick would be so desperate that he would accept, regardless of the terms. The QB’s side asked that the workout be done on a Tuesday, the NFL said no. (Tuesday is a traditional day off for players, etc)
Apparently, the waiver language was not agreed upon in advance. Rather than sign the NFL’s version, Kaepernick’s side opted to relocate the workout some 60 miles away. I can’t blame some scouts for refusing to follow.
If the NFL was serious, they would have negotiated all this in advance. As it was, the last minute patched together affair fell apart.
Does Kaepernick want to play football or be a martyr, some have asked? I’d say both. He won’t give up his principles to THE MAN, and knew it was likely the league was playing him for a sucker, based on the non-good-faith offer. If he was desperate to play football, he would have accepted their terms and hoped he was wrong.
That’s not who he is. He couldn’t swallow his pride and let the NFL win the PR battle.
That’s another reason teams have shied away. They want control of their players, not men who will stand on principle. The kneeling issue has subsided, but knowing Kaepernick, there is likely to be something else.
This reminds me of Cool Hand Luke. A man who refuses to be cowed by the system, to his own detriment. Paul Newman’s Luke got shot in the end, but the other prisoners revered him for his guts. Kaepernick will be respected by some, reviled by many, but he’ll have his pride. Only he can say if it was all worth it.
