Since 46-year-old George Floyd’s chokehold murder May 25, the country continues its racial spasms, not sure where everything will end up. Street protests around the country morphed into riots, looting, arson and anarchy, mirroring the collective rage in the African American community over racism and police brutality. Colin Kaepernick, 32, was not the first black athlete to stand up for racial injustice but he was the first National Football League [NFL] player to sacrifice his career due to kneeling during the National Anthem in his final 2016 season with the San Francisco 49ers. Kneeling during the Anthem was considered controversial back then, now looks tame after watching another unarmed black man murdered on video by a white police officer. After the 2016 season, Kaepernick became radioactive, with no teams offering him a starting or backup role in the NFL

Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) said given everything’s that’s happened to the country after Floyd’s death, it would be a good time to offer Kaepernick a NFL contract. Kennedy said 61-year-old NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should work toward getting Kaepernick a job in the NFL. “The NFL should apologize to Colin Kaepernick and the Patriots should sign him,” Kennedy tweeted. Goodell publicly apologized June 5 for the league’s stance on kneeling during the National Anthem. At the time in 2016 when Colin kneeled, 73-year-old President Donald Trump criticized Kaepernick and other players for disrespecting the flag. Goodell said June 5 that the NFL “was wrong,” to condemn players for kneeling, realizing that it wasn’t disrespecting the flag but more about NFL players acknowledging racism and police brutality. Kennedy thinks New England Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft should step up.

New Orleans Saints quarterback 41-year-old Drew Brees stepped into the controversy June 3, saying he personally wouldn’t be comfortable kneeling during the National Anthem. Given the Floyd situation, with riots in the streets, Brees was slammed for racial insensitivity. Brees was forced to issue profuse apologies June 4 to his black teammates Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and others around the league With political correctness changing daily, the Anthem and flag issue no longer seem important. What Kennedy doesn’t get is that NFL teams give contracts to players ready to play, something Kaepernick can’t demonstrate. When he held his own tryout at an Atlanta high school Nov. 16, 2019, he looked anything but ready to play in the NFL as a backup let alone starter. While he did get some media to watch his exhibition, the NFL didn’t show up with any scouts.

When Colin held his workout, he didn’t give the NFL enough lead-time to send appropriate scouts to his workout. “So we are waiting for the 32 owners, 32 teams and [league commissioner] Roger Goodell to stop running,” Kaepernick said. “Stop running from the truth, stop running from the people,” blaming the NFL for not showing up. But those that did show up for Kaepernick’s exhibition were not too impressed. “He still has lower third to mid-tier starter ability,” said one unnamed viewer on Twitter. “If media circle didn’t follow, someone would have him as a backup at minimum already.” “We are ready to play. We are ready to go anywhere,” Kaepernick said after his impromptu exhibition. But no one in the NFL was impressed with his workout. Kaepernick held his staged workout without giving letting the NFL conduct what was essentially a more legitimate combine.

Floyd’s racial firestorm put more pressure on league officials and owners to give Colin another shot. “Don’t apologize, Give Colin Kaepernick a job back,” said Rev. Al Sharpton, presiding at memorial services for Floyd this past week. Sharpton responded to Goodell’s June 5 apology that the league was wrong to have made a big deal out of Kaepernick’s kneeling. Kneeling has become the new meme for the police or white people to show empathy with the black community. When it comes of Joe Kennedy’s suggestion to hire Kaepernick, the New England Patriots have free agent Cam Newton to consider first. However Kaepernick martyred himself staging political protests on the field in 2016, he’s got no one to blame but himself for putting activism before football. Getting any front office to take a chance on Kaepernick won’t be easy knowing the baggage that comes along.

When it comes to putting back on his cleats, Kaepernick must prove that he’s competitive with other free agents or young quarterbacks coming into the league. Colin hasn’t played since the end of the 2016 season, a long time to be away from the game When he staged his workout in 2019, he rolled the dice, giving the overall impression he wasn’t ready for primetime. Kaepernick’s made a name for himself for racial activism, not on the football field where it counts from most scouts and front office executives. “From the outset, Mr. Kaepernick requested a legitimate process and from the outset the NFL league office has not provided one,” referring to his 2019 workout that didn’t impress to many people. Blackballed from the NFL, Kaepernick sued the league for collusion in 2017, eventually settling for an undisclosed sum of $10 million. a drop in the bucket for the once elite quarterback.