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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| We’re now told that the NFL has “blackballed” Colin Kaepernick |
| 2017-04-03 |
| It’s been a couple of weeks since NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick entered the free agency market and, as of today, he remains gainfully unemployed. Despite his long running battle with the league over his demonstrations of protest before kickoff time, refusing to stand respectfully for the National Anthem, it had been widely assumed that he might land a job somewhere. So what gives? At the Washington Post, Kevin B. Blackistone assures us that the league has secretly decided to “blackball” Kaepernick because of his bold stand in support of social justice or something. Blackistone begins his column by comparing Kaepernick to NBA All-Star Craig Hodges, who once famously wore some African themed attire to the White House and gave a letter to then President Bush calling for more assistance to people of color. But let me bring up another famous (or infamous) NFL figure for you. Does anyone remember Plaxico Burress? While playing for the Giants (and even after) he racked up a number of collisions with the law over failure to pay taxes and some, shall we say… creative interpretations of personal medication regimens. But all of that paled in comparison to the time he literally shot himself in the thigh at a bar with a handgun for which he had no valid permit to carry in the city. The Giants eventually dismissed him, but he wound up with a starting spot with… the Jets. (For we Jets fans that was no surprise. It was just another day at the front office for us.) But why did Burress have a job at all? Because even though he was every bit as much of a walking public relations disaster as Kaepernick, he was also one of the hottest receivers in the NFL at the time. The league is simply too competitive to leave that sort of talent out on the street if it can be avoided. Conversely, you can be the most clean cut, law abiding do gooder imaginable, but if you stink up the place when it’s game time you’ll be out of a job. Despite having come within inches of perforating his own tender bits with a hot lead injection, Burress was at the top of his game. Colin Kaepernick falls somewhere in between. As quarterbacks go, his more recent performance was somewhere between dismal and mediocre. His passer rating was easily thirty points below the guys who made it to the final dance. But even for all that, he wasn’t that bad. Even the bottom quarter of ranked NFL passers are still light years ahead of the hundreds of hopefuls coming out of college every year. So at least one part of Blackistone’s theory is true. His antics definitely affected the outcome, but that’s because we’re talking about a sliding scale here. Allow me to offer a quick rule of thumb when it comes to profession sports as perceived by one of the fans: The amount of embarrassment your team is willing to put up with is directly proportional to your measured value in terms of how likely you are to get them into the Superbowl. In those terms, Kaepernick was okay, but not stellar enough for anyone (so far) to take on all that public relations baggage in exchange for what he offers on the field. Maybe somebody will be desperate enough for this condition to change in the coming weeks. (Note to the Jets… please don’t do this to us again.) Perhaps nobody will. But the NFL is a business just as much as it’s a national fixation. Kaepernick could have gotten away with protesting a lot more with a shiny new conference championship ring on his finger, believe me. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #21 old Chinese proverb: heavily tattooed scrotum not same as blackballed |
| Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 2017-04-03 22:59 |
| #20 So, red ink has bearded poor Kaepernick, Who's snoozing, sub rosa, like Frederick. Will bed-headed hep child, Unwoke, get his hair styled To match his less |
| Posted by: Tyranysaurus Cholush1274 2017-04-03 22:42 |
| #19 It's racist how no one will sign Tim Tebow. |
| Posted by: charger 2017-04-03 21:18 |
| #18 Double secret probation! |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2017-04-03 17:08 |
| #17 Racist NFL Blackballing Haiku Not that I've seen them Unless the league used spray paint I'd think they're more beige |
| Posted by: JHH 2017-04-03 14:24 |
| #16 In the NFL, the QBs that last are the cerebral ones, and Kaep is million dollar afro on a 10-cent head. |
| Posted by: regular joe 2017-04-03 12:56 |
| #15 A quarterback who led his team to a 2-14 season and has been named as a cause of the NFL ratings declines...what's not to like? |
| Posted by: Tom 2017-04-03 12:47 |
| #14 Pour encourager les autres. |
| Posted by: Iblis 2017-04-03 12:22 |
| #13 Hence Kaepernick's announcements that he'll suffer to stand for the anthem and that he's donating millions to various and sundry... 'charities'. No doubt his agent is getting nervous. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2017-04-03 12:02 |
| #12 Disrespect is a two way street, bro. |
| Posted by: Nero White 3083 2017-04-03 11:50 |
| #11 I always thought he had the physical skills. IIRC he had one pretty good season. But even before his protest it was clear he was something of a head case. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2017-04-03 11:22 |
| #10 Two points: (1) He was on the way out anyway before he started the brew-ha-ha that made him a household name. (2) He has an epic fro that makes me smile whenever I see it and wonder how it can crush down inside his helmet. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2017-04-03 10:25 |
| #9 Yeah, we are told by PETA that white milk is racist too. Kaepernick is a bit of a misguided turd. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2017-04-03 10:00 |
| #8 They don't need to. He is a crap quarterback with shitty leadership skills, toxic personality and lots of baggage. No owner or coach wants that on their team. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2017-04-03 09:43 |
| #7 Yep - bottom line is Kap is a terrible quarterback. He has no leadership skills, can't read defenses, passing skills are mediocre at best and he's completely whipped by his activist girl friend. None of those attributes belong on the gridiron. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2017-04-03 09:19 |
| #6 A) the QB is the face of the franchise so the embarrassment factor is an order of magnitude over that of a WR. B) He never showed serious pro caliber QB skills in the pocket which is where you have to do it. One season of success when you were a sort of freak show doesn't always continue. C) The draft is yet to happen. There is plenty of time for some desperate team to pick him up. D) Blackstone is a race baiting whiner, a face of the new ESPN. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2017-04-03 08:37 |
| #5 You have the right to free speech. You also have the consequences of free speech. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2017-04-03 07:45 |
| #4 A Kaepernick, Jenner, and Dolezal mini-series. A five year filming effort on location in Tasmania. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-04-03 04:48 |
| #3 It is not hard to get black balled if you are on your knees. |
| Posted by: newc 2017-04-03 03:28 |
| #2 He pretty much blacklisted himself. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2017-04-03 01:24 |
| #1 I never liked him. Nobody I know liked him. What is the phrase? Oh yes, just deserts. |
| Posted by: Tiny Tholung2506 2017-04-03 01:20 |