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Now is the moment to sign Colin Kaepernick. By Joe Lockhart
https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/29/opinions/now-is-the-moment-to-sign-colin-kaepernick-lockhart/index.html
Updated 12:33 AM ET, Sat May 30, 2020
(CNN) When I was an executive in the National Football League a few years ago, our organization was consumed by the case of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback whose silent kneeling protest against police brutality arguably led him to lose his NFL career and not be re-signed by any club. No teams wanted to sign a player -- even one as talented as Kaepernick -- whom they saw as controversial, and, therefore, bad for business.
The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, and other league executives tried to persuade the teams to change their minds. The league sent owners and players around the country to try to lead a dialogue on race relations and to move, as the sociologist and human rights activist Harry Edwards said, "from protest to progress." Though Kaepernick didn't get his job back, I thought we had all done a righteous job, considering.
I was wrong. I think the teams were wrong for not signing him. Watching what's going on in Minnesota, I understand how badly wrong we were.
I was the league's executive vice president in charge of communications and government affairs, from 2016-2018. During my time there, we dealt with many issues that captivated the public: Ray Rice and domestic abuse, the "Deflategate" scandal that almost went to the Supreme Court and a variety of football concerns, like what is a catch and how much can players celebrate. Some were very serious, and others seemed a little absurd, but passions run so high for professional football that nothing seems silly to their fans.
But no issue challenged the league and its owners more than Kaepernick and his silent protest during the National Anthem. He started his protest in the preseason of 2016. In fact, the first time he did it no one even noted that he took a seat on the bench rather than stand.
</snip>
Updated 12:33 AM ET, Sat May 30, 2020
(CNN) When I was an executive in the National Football League a few years ago, our organization was consumed by the case of Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback whose silent kneeling protest against police brutality arguably led him to lose his NFL career and not be re-signed by any club. No teams wanted to sign a player -- even one as talented as Kaepernick -- whom they saw as controversial, and, therefore, bad for business.
The NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, and other league executives tried to persuade the teams to change their minds. The league sent owners and players around the country to try to lead a dialogue on race relations and to move, as the sociologist and human rights activist Harry Edwards said, "from protest to progress." Though Kaepernick didn't get his job back, I thought we had all done a righteous job, considering.
I was wrong. I think the teams were wrong for not signing him. Watching what's going on in Minnesota, I understand how badly wrong we were.
I was the league's executive vice president in charge of communications and government affairs, from 2016-2018. During my time there, we dealt with many issues that captivated the public: Ray Rice and domestic abuse, the "Deflategate" scandal that almost went to the Supreme Court and a variety of football concerns, like what is a catch and how much can players celebrate. Some were very serious, and others seemed a little absurd, but passions run so high for professional football that nothing seems silly to their fans.
But no issue challenged the league and its owners more than Kaepernick and his silent protest during the National Anthem. He started his protest in the preseason of 2016. In fact, the first time he did it no one even noted that he took a seat on the bench rather than stand.
</snip>
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