(Los Angeles) Colin Kaepernick, who has not played in the NFL since the end of 2016 and his famous knee to the ground to protest against police violence against blacks, reaffirmed his wish to continue his career, even if it means accepting a quarterback role -Replacement rear.
Posted at 9:46 p.m.
“I have to find my way back. So if I have to be taken on as a substitute, that will be fine with me, ”said the former star of the 49ers from San Francisco in an interview that aired on the “I Am Athlete” podcast.
“But I’m not going to settle for that. And when I prove that I am a starter, I want to be able to enter the field as such. I just need an opportunity,” he continued.
Reluctantly, because he always kept himself physically fit and never retired, Kaepernick, 34, has not thrown a single ball on the field since the end of his contract with San Francisco, which he drove to the Super Bowl in 2013, ultimately losing.
During his final season, in the fall of 2016, he knelt several times during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. Other American athletes followed this movement throughout the following year, provoking the ire of Donald Trump, insults as a bonus.
The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 in Minneapolis reignited the anger of millions of protesters and the “Black Lives Matter” movement across the country. Kaepernick’s kneeling had then been rehabilitated.
“Let me come back”
According to him, if there was any reluctance from clubs to hire him due to his protests, that should no longer be the case in today’s NFL. “There are ‘End Racism’ painted in the end zones, ‘Black Lives Matter’ written on the helmets. Everything I said should be in line with what the league stands for,” he argued.
“We are talking about a business of $16 billion. When I got down on one knee for the first time, my jersey became number 1 in sales. When I made the deal with Nike, their value went up by six billion dollars. Six billion! “, he advanced.
“So if we talk about the commercial aspect, it shows that it is profitable. If we talk about the sporting aspect, let me come back. The NFL is supposed to operate on meritocracy. They can judge me on the spot. If I’m not good enough, I get fired,” he added.
Kaepernick recently performed a throwing session and other drills in front of several scouts. In almost four years, he received only one offer from the Seattle Seahawks in 2017.
“No other team brought me in for training. At the end of this meeting, coach Pete Carroll said: “Hey but we have a starter there”. Then things changed. However, I note that they do not have a holder at the moment, ”he concluded.