With just a couple of weeks until the regular NFL season kicks off, quarterback Colin Kaepernick still remains a free agent.
Many believe that teams in need of a quarterback won’t employ him because of the stance he took when he knelt during the National Anthem last season.
This is an issue that now, the NAACP would like to discuss with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. An excerpt from a letter that NAACP interim president Derrick Johnson wrote to Goodell said it is “no sheer coincidence” that Kaepernick is not on a team.
Johnson also spoke out in support of Kap.
“No player should be victimized and discriminated against because of his exercise of free speech – to do so is in violation of his rights under the Constitution and the NFL’s own regulations,” Johnson said, per The Associated Press (h/t CSN Bay Area).”
Kaepernick would still like to play football, but has drawn very little interest from any potential teams shopping the quarterback market.
The Seattle Seahawks briefly entertained the idea of adding Kap as a backup to Russell Wilson. Baltimore also tossed around the idea after Joe Flacco injured his back in training camp.
Obviously, nothing came about in either of those cases. Kaepernick still remains a viable quarterback and is the best player remaining on the free agent market. And, there are still teams that have the need to enhance their quarterback situations.
It will be interesting to see if any team reaches out in the days approaching Week 1 of the regular season. Whether Goodell responds to the NAACP also remains to be seen. He has gone public to say that NFL teams are not blackballing Kaepernick.