Colin Kaepernick last played in the NFL in 2016, but every so often he or his agent say that he’s “still ready” to return to the league or that he’s in the best shape of his life.
That effort ratcheted up Thursday with a seemingly unprompted press release from Kaepernick’s agent and public relations director entitled, “Facts to Address the False Narratives Regarding Colin Kaepernick.”
The document employs a question-and-answer format to debunk ideas perceived as reasons Kaepernick has not played professional football for going on three seasons.
Kaepernick famously knelt for the national anthem during the 2016 season to draw attention to police brutality against black people and racial injustice, and after opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers, no team has signed him. Kaepernick filed a grievance alleging the NFL and its teams colluded to keep him out of the league; the NFL settled the grievance with a $10 million payment to Kaepernick and former 49ers teammate Eric Reid.
Thursday’s release, authored by agent Jeff Nalley and PR rep Jasmine Windham, said Kaepernick has not been offered a job or even a workout by “a single team,” although the Seattle Seahawks planned to work him out in the 2018 offseason.
“Seattle brought Colin in for a visit but did not work him out,” the release said. “Afterwards, (Seahawks coach) Pete Carroll said Colin is ’a starter in this league.’ No other NFL team has interviewed or worked out Colin in the past 3 seasons, despite other false statements in the media to the contrary.”
The release goes on to say that Nalley reached out to all 32 NFL teams “with little to no response” and that Kaepernick has not demanded a specific salary if he were to sign somewhere. It claims that Kaepernick “fits into most teams’ system” and spends most of the second page breaking down Kaepernick’s 2016 statistics.
“In summary, it is difficult to think of another young player in NFL history with statistics and character as impressive as Colin’s not being given an opportunity to earn a spot on an NFL roster after what he has accomplished,” it concluded.
Colin Kaepernick’s representatives released statements today to clear up some facts surrounding their client: pic.twitter.com/Wo86KTkKDM
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 10, 2019
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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