The NFL extended an olive branch to Colin Kaepernick by offering him a private workout, but it’s not clear what peace was achieved.
Fans of Colin Kaepernick were left deeply disappointed this weekend after a private workout hosted by the NFL to hopefully reintegrate him into the league went horribly awry. Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the 49ers, led the team to victory in the 2013 NFC Championship but was abruptly fired in 2016 after leading nationwide protests against police brutality that became highly politicized. Since then, he has not been drafted by a single major league team despite a standout record on the field, including being named the WAC Offensive Player of the Year in both 2008 and 2010.
Kaepernick’s grievance lawsuit against the NFL for collusion was settled in February for an undisclosed sum. The NFL summarily offered him a “private workout” – in recruiter’s terms, the chance to showcase his condition to scouts – as a way of bootstrapping his reentry into the league. Kaepernick’s team agreed but later withdrew from the workout due to contract disputes only hours before it was schedule to occur. It was a gross PR misfire for the NFL that ended, predictably, in a flame war between embattled fans and executives on Twitter and even spawned a thought-provoking but somewhat irrelevant op-ed from Ta-Nehisi Coates on the evils of cancel culture. In case you missed it, here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about Kaepernick-private workout-gate.
Was the NFL actually colluding to keep Kaepernick out of the league?
By all public estimation, yes. Kaepernick’s settlement with the NFL is confidential, so we may never have a satisfying legal answer to that question, but most experts are on his side. Team owners balked at the thought of alienating conservative fans despite the fact that he enjoyed wide support from coaches, general managers and other players. In probably the most famous example, Kaepernick was preferred by Ravens’ John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome as the backup starter to Joe Flacco in the 2017 season, but his addition to the team was vetoed by owner Steve Bisciotti, who said in a press conference he feared the decision would definitely “upset some people.”
So, if the NFL finally agreed to stop the collusion, why did Kaepernick refuse the workout last weekend?
The full terms and conditions of Kaepernick’s NFL contract were withheld from his team before the event. They were told the purpose of the workout was to showcase his abilities to scouts and that they would go from there if things worked out. Instead, when he arrived, he was immediately asked to sign a contract that would have him “hold harmless” the entire NFL, in perpetuity, for any crimes they might commit against him. For a more in-depth discussion of the contract, these highlights were shared on Twitter by Daniel Wallach:
Sunday edition of Commercial Law 101: If you’re Colin Kaepernick, under no circumstances do you sign this Release, which could operate as a backdoor waiver of any future collusion claims. Read paras. 2 and 7 together, and you’ll see the problem. (h/t @ProFootballTalk) pic.twitter.com/nisSkzuigZ
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) November 17, 2019
Kaepernick reacted by changing the venue at the last minute and declining to let the NFL film his performance. He released a short statement about his decision over Instagram, which you can watch below:
Here’s Kaepernick’s short statement following today’s workout, via the livestream: pic.twitter.com/H4OeIVwOGo
— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) November 16, 2019
Were the terms of the contract actually that unusual?
Depends who you ask. It’s clear that Kaepernick and the NFL share a toxic mutual mistrust that last weekend’s showcase failed to resolve and which probably contributed to the event breaking down. Players and fans seemed divided on the issue; some weighed in that Kaepernick should shut up and play while others applauded him for standing up to a corrupt organization. After he was criticized by ESPN’s Stephen Smith for “not wanting to play,” his former 49ers teammate Eric Reid came to his defense on Twitter:
.@stephenasmith Tap dancing for the NFL like ⬇️. Damn straight Colin wants to control the narrative! He supposed to trust the organization that blackballed him and has done absolutely nothing in good faith??? Born on Tuesday, just not last Tuesday. https://t.co/EKztmcrDbu pic.twitter.com/gz0xnDe10e
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) November 17, 2019
What was the final outcome?
Basically, Kaepernick’s fans were getting excited thinking they were going to see him play in the NFL again, but the whole thing spectacularly backfired and made things even worse than before. If Kaepernick’s career with the NFL was in limbo over the past year, it’s now in Hell – he’s unlikely to play in an NFL game ever again. Pretty much everyone who was on Kaepernick’s side still is, and everyone who was on the NFL’s side is as well. Nice one, guys!
*All images and media reproduced from Twitter with permissions.
