Following Colin Kaepernick’s acts of political activism during the last season, where he decided to sit or kneel during the playing of the national anthem, the former 49ers quarterback still remains unsigned. As a result, Kaepernick has now filed a grievance with the NFL.
Since his actions last season, other players have followed suit by demonstrating during the national anthem. The move has irked the sensibilities of Donald Trump, who called for such players to be fired. The controversy continues as NFL owners are at the cusp of having a special meeting to discuss the possibility of bringing in a new rule that would require players to stand during the national anthem.
According to Mark Geragos, one of the former 49ers QB:
“If the NFL (as well as all professional sports leagues) is to remain a meritocracy, then principled and peaceful political protest — which the owners themselves made great theater imitating weeks ago — should not be punished and athletes should not be denied employment based on partisan political provocation by the executive branch of our government. Such a precedent threatens all patriotic Americans and harkens back to our darkest days as a nation. Colin Kaepernick’s goal has always been, and remains, to simply be treated fairly by the league he performed at the highest level for and to return to the football playing field.”
One of Kaepernick’s former teammates, Eric Reid, has publicly backed the former quarterback, and the NFL players’ union also intends to support the grievance. Says Reid:
“I’ll have to follow up with him. It sure does seem like he’s being blackballed. I think all the stats prove that he’s an NFL-worthy quarterback. So that’s his choice and I support his decision. We’ll just have to see what comes of it.”
The matter is now in the hands of the league, and the outcome of the league owners’ meeting will be a crucial pivot in deciding which way the issue will go.
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Source: USA Today
