NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 29: Former San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick watches a Women's Singles ... [+]
When you’re the NFL, and you’re the most powerful entity on the face of the earth (OK, at least in professional sports) after making a record $16 billion last season, you can look disingenuous and get away with it.
Sorry, but NFL officials won’t suffer a bit after pretending they really wish to give Colin Kaepernick a fair tryout Saturday in Atlanta.
Let’s start with that: The tryout is Saturday.
You may laugh now.
It’s the stretch drive of the NFL season. The majority of coaches, general managers and other primary decision makers of the league’s 32 teams will spend Saturday preparing to win the following day.
As a result, somewhere between a few to zero NFL honchos will attend this tryout (you know, if it happens) involving Kaepernick who was blackballed from the league after the 2016 season. It didn’t matter he used his arm and his legs during his six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers to become the prototype for Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray and others.
Neither did it matter Kaepernick took the 49ers to two trips to the National Football Conference title game, including a Super Bowl berth.
Kaepernick still entered the NFL’s unofficial slammer, and his crime? He had the audacity to inspire others to protest social injustice and police brutality by kneeling or sitting with him during the national anthem before games.
Yes, Kaepernick would love to resume his NFL career at 32, but he’s doing just fine, thank you.
He spent last autumn becoming the primary spokesperson for the second-most powerful entity on the face of the earth called Nike after he signed a new contract worth millions.
The sportswear company watched sales jump 31 percent.
Since then, with Kaepernick doing everything from starring in an Emmy-winning Nike commercial to advising the company to pull its Betsy Ross shoe for racial reasons, Nike has added billions to its billions.
Which means whether we’re talking about the NFL or Kaepernick, none of this (see below) will matter in the long run. Simply put, the league is doing its version of shoving a sucker in the mouth of Kaepernick and his disciples before yanking it out prior to the first lick.
- The Timing, Part I Why now? Why not give Kaepernick a tryout before he signed a grievance against the NFL in October 2017 alleging collusion to keep him from playing? If nothing else, why not give him a tryout before this season before his lawyers had to release a statement last month mentioning “not a single team” brought Kaepernick in for an interview during the past three years? To translate: You know the answer.
- The Timing, Part II In addition to NFL honchos looking toward game days on Saturdays, it’s football weekend, period. That’s for pros and colleges. It becomes easier for things to get buried such as, oh, say, a tryout for a controversial quarterback who might show he still can play more than a little. So why not do the tryout (you know, if it happens) earlier in the week without those distractions? To translate: You know the answer.
- The Timing, Part III
Why, why and why? To translate: You know the answer.
- The Location In The Deep South, nothing is bigger than college football, especially in Atlanta, where the local team is the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 4 in the country, and they play Saturday night at No. 12 Auburn. So with a tryout (you know, if it happens) occurring earlier Saturday at the Atlanta Falcons headquarters in the boondocks of Flowery Branch, Georgia, well, you know the answer.
- The Silence During press gatherings Wednesday around the NFL, team officials mostly avoided questions about the Kaepernick tryout (you know, if it happens). Why so mum on this guy when the league is filled with teams needing quarterbacks? Translated: You know the answer.
Here’s one more question: Will any of this trigger massive boycotts of the NFL, involving everybody from advertisers to fans?
You know the answer.
