George Floyd’s Death Shows Kaepernick Story Is Biggest NFL Scandal In Recent History

Colin Kaepernick never received another job in the NFL after kneeling during the national anthem to protest deaths like George Floyd’s. We should never forget that.

Many sports stars have spoken out in the immediate aftermath of the deadly incident, which occurred Monday night in Minneapolis. A bystander’s video shows a police officer kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd, who keeps pleading he can’t breathe. The officer never relinquished pressure until the paramedics showed up, and Floyd, 46, wound up dying in the hospital.

Officers responded to an alleged forgery in process and proceeded to handcuff Floyd. All four officers at the scene have been fired from the Minneapolis Police Department. Protests broke out in the city Tuesday evening, resulting in violent clashes with police, who threw smoke bombs, tear gas and flash grenades against the demonstrators.

Numerous sports stars, including LeBron James, have used the power of their social media platforms to express outrage over Floyd’s death. In an Instagram post, James explicitly mentions Kaepernick, posting a photo of him kneeling beside a screenshot of the police officer with his knee on Floyd’s neck.

James is outspoken about social justice issues, perhaps most notably wearing an “I Can’t Breathe” shirt to acknowledge the death of Eric Garner, a black man in Staten Island who died on a sidewalk in 2014 after an officer had put him in a chokehold while arresting him. Garner kept yelling he couldn’t breathe, but the officer never relented.

Garner’s apparent crime was selling loose cigarettes. The parallels to Floyd’s death are chilling.

Over the last four years, the meaning of Kaepernick’s protest has been obfuscated and perverted to fit certain political narratives. Already polarizing, he was thrust into our toxic national political debate when President Donald Trump called kneeling NFL players “sons of bitches” at a rally in Alabama in 2017. That season, hundreds of players kneeled in solidarity with Kaepernick, prompting Vice President Mike Pence to perform the cheesy stunt of leaving a Colts-49ers game before kick-off.

Since then, the Kaepernick case has largely become lost in minutia, at least to the layman. Last year, he settled his collusion claim against the NFL for $10 million, prompting speculation he didn’t possess a strong case. That line of thinking conveniently ignores the difficulty of proving collusion in a courtroom, and the fact the NFL agreed to the settlement. Remember, this is the league that took Tom Brady to federal court over deflated footballs. The NFL isn’t known for backing down, especially if its reputation is at stake.

Since the settlement, Kaepernick has turned his social activism into profit, serving as a multimillion-dollar ambassador for Nike. Of course, he likely would’ve earned far more as a starting quarterback. Even Case Keenum, who stinks, is slated to pocket $6 million this season alone as a backup on the Cleveland Browns.

Last season, the NFL seemed to largely move on from the three-year Kaepernick controversy. The league brought aboard Kaepernick ally Jay-Z as a business partner, but as it turns out, the partnership appeared to be more about attracting a hip and cool Super Bowl halftime show than social justice. Last summer, Jay-Z himself declared it was time to “move on” from kneeling. The league even hosted Kaepernick for a tryout, but the two sides squabbled over workout particulars.

The taxpayer-funded brutality that Floyd suffered, however, combined with the recent murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, shows Kaepernick’s message still needs to be demonstrated — by black and white players alike. That’s why it was so crucial for Brady sign on with the Players Coalition to demand a federal investigation into Arbery’s slaying. It’s time for all athletes with a platform to speak out.

Clearly, that leadership is not coming from the White House, and hasn’t for three years. As of Tuesday morning, President Trump had not addressed Floyd’s death. He did, however, tweet another conspiracy theory about MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.

Kaepernick used his platform to spread a message against unjust police brutality. And since then, he hasn’t played again. Never forget.