Colin Kaepernick is named Citizen of the Year by GQ magazine
Colin Kaepernick was named Citizen of the Year by GQ magazine. After he started kneeling during the National Anthem before his football games, he has not been able to get hired by any other NFL teams. “[GQ feels] he is ‘one of the most gifted quarterbacks on earth’ and ‘indisputably, undeniably, flat-out better’ than more than 75% of the quarterbacks employed by the league right now. They feel he is being ‘blackballed” by the NFL for his protests.’” Kaepernick decided not to comment on the piece. Instead, he had ten of his closest confidantes comment for him, including rapper J. Cole, former teammates, and social activists such as Harry Belafonte. He thinks that in doing this he will “reclaim the narrative of his protest.” In doing so, Kaepernick has gotten attention from many people, including President Trump. At a rally in Alabama, Trump stated that athletes should be “fired” for disrespecting the flag. Do you think Colin Kaepernick is being treated unfairly by the NFL? Are his methods effective? What should be done? 
16 comments:
I don't follow football very often, so I'm not sure as to how good Kaepernick is as a quarterback. But I have heard that the reason that the NFL isn't employing him is at least in part due to his performance. And I think that is a pretty valid reason, so no, there is no unfair treatment here. As for him getting citizen of the year, I really have no opinion, as I don't read that magazine anyways. Congrats to Kaepernick for winning it I guess. I personally would've gone with someone else (Elon Musk maybe?).
As Max stated, the Kaepernick’s performance has declined in some aspects, which is very unusual for such a young player. Despite this, Kaepernick’s stats are still legions better than many other quarterbacks, including the 49ers’ former quarterback Brian Hoyer. Some prominent figures in the NFL have stated that they don’t support the fact that Kaepernick protests during the national anthem because it’s at work. I understand there is some level of professionalism associated with knowing when to bite your tongue, but Kaepernick is a public figure who, like many others, uses his platform to call awareness to an issue. I feel that discouraging him from speaking out against issues important to him is unfair, especially since his main target is calling awareness to police brutality which shouldn’t be a controversial issue (excessive force should never be justified).
As for "one of the most gifted quarterbacks on earth," maybe not. However, his skill as a quarterback definitely raises the question of why some NFL teams aren't choosing to hire him. There are many teams who are currently starting quarterbacks of inferior skill (49ers arguably one of them), but perhaps every team is worried that the negative stigma surrounding Kaepernick, especially from southern fans, could impact the team's reputation or funding. I believe that he deserves a spot on one team or another, but Trump's illogical bashing of these protests has made situations a lot more complicated than they need to.
For Colin Kaepernick, people tend to overlook the fact that it was he who decided to opt out of his $126 million contract and test free agency. It's ultimately his fault that he is left unsigned, as he could be playing for the 49ers right now if he hadn't opted out, so don't really feel bad for him. That said, the reason he is unsigned because he is a media circus, a distraction for NFL teams because of the constant media frenzy that he received last year. No team wants that, as they are trying to win games and focus on winning. Because of these two important and overlooked reasons, there is no unfair treatment here.
As for citizen of the year, congrats, but it seems like a publicity stunt from GQ. If they really wanted an athlete, I would have gone with JJ Watt. That guy raised $37 million to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey all by himself.
Kaepernick kinda sucked his last year with the 49ers so it's not a surprise to me that no teams want him for that reason. And GQ must be run by a bunch of crazy, ignorant people if they think that Colin Kaepernick is the best citizen in the US. All Colin Kaepernick did was start a movement that got so much attention because it was extremely un-American and nationally televised. I'm still not quite sure how protesting in a very dramatic way makes you the best person in the United States.
JYang speaking straight facts. If you aren't a transcendent talent or offer irreplaceable attributes, no owner wants a media circus surrounding their team. GQ is saying that Kaepernick is a better quarterback than half of the currently playing quarterbacks in the league, yet his stats were inflated from playing against bad teams or in garbage time in games that didn't even matter. I can't wait to see who GQ's person of the year next year is. I hope it's Tay-K.
Although I may have bias for previously being a Kaepernick fan, I still believe that his talents alone deserve a spot on an NFL roster, as he has previously lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl. However, I understand that the NFL is a business, and many teams fear attracting unwanted political attention, which may harm the team’s value in the eyes of some. Regarding his methods, as I have stated in previous blogs, I believe he has successfully attracted attention on the issue of racial injustice, but there is still a lot more that needs to done in order to resolve it. As for Citizen of the Year, I believe he deserves to be one of the options, but I agree with Justin that JJ Watt is another deserving candidate after raising the amount of money that he did for the communities affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Although Kaepernick may not be playing as well as he previously has, I believe that NFL teams are going to far with taking away his profession because of his beliefs. He is not the one who caused a media frenzy, the media publicized his actions and created a spotlight for him to be viewed as the bad guy. GQ made the statement of "citizen of the year" and that's a bit excessive, but outright hating him is also an overreaction. One could disagree with his beliefs but in the end he has the support from many as he was simply kneeling in an effort to bring light to the horrible injustice in our country.
When you ask the question of how there are athletes who have sexually harassed and abused who still play in the league and have brought negative attention to their teams....compared to Kaepernick who silently protested against racial inequality it seems unfair. The media has affected his career in many ways, including ending the football aspect in his life, which is not his fault. I do not think that everyone above realized that Kaepernick donated millions to mental health facilities and schools which helped him earn this title of "Citizen of the Year". Having the world pay attention to his every move, and having the president refer to him as a "son of a bitch" does not help his career especially when many NFL owners agree with the presidents views. He does not deserve the hate he gets from the NFL and is clearly mistreated in front of all of America.
"[GQ feels] he is ‘one of the most gifted quarterbacks on earth’ and ‘indisputably, undeniably, flat-out better’ than more than 75% of the quarterbacks employed by the league right now. "
This argument is absolutely terrible. Better than 75% of QB's employed in the league? His 2015 and 2016 stat line shows that he is not a quarter back. He is a glorified running who has no touch on the ball. Currently in the NFL, there are 10 backup QB's that are better than him. They may not have the running potential of Colin, but the QB position is meant for players who can pass the ball. While there are running QB's, they are all mainly elite passers first. Here are the list of backups better than Colin:
Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers
Matt Moore, Dolphins
A.J. McCarron, Bengals
Chad Henne, Jaguars
Trevor Semien, Broncos
Nick Foles, Eagles
Ryan Mallett, Ravens
Patrick Mahones, Chiefs
Landry Jones, Steelers
Matt Cassel, Titans
The fact that he is in the conversation with backups show that he is going to be a backup quarterback for all teams. Than it becomes a situation of: what do you want in your back up QB spot? And the answer for most teams is a quiet guy, who goes and does his work. Not a player who will create controversy. There have been plenty of talented QB's out of jobs because all they would do is create controversy or have a media frenzy following them. Most notably, TIM TEBOW. Case closed.
The way the NFL treated Kaepernick is completely unjust. Rather than confronting the bigger issue, Kaepernick was fired for the sake of the NFL maintaining a good image and reputation. Additionally, recently when a bunch of other NFL teams came together in unison and followed Kaepernick's actions of peaceful protesting, no repercussions were taken against them. If it suddenly became O.K. for other players to express their right to protest, why does Kaepernick remain unemployed by the NFL? Kaepernick is by all means deserving of this award by the magazine because he has used his large platform to not only fight racial inequality, but also to spread awareness about other social issues and he has given a voice to minority groups across the country. While one could disagree with his actions and social views, his courage and strength is undeniable. The media has portrayed him in very negative ways but ultimately, he continues to be someone I admire due to his bravery and standing firm on what is right.
538 has ran multiple analyses regarding Kaepernick's situation and has essentially concluded that it's an anomaly Kaepernick hasn't found a job yet based on his previous stats he put up. I think it's a shame that such a large portion of the nation are hostile towards Kaepernick and his kneeling, which is really preventing any team from wanting to hire him. All in all, I think he's brave for standing (or kneeling) behind what he believes in and after all, he's the one who started this entire movement towards speaking out through protest in the NFL in the first place.
Maybe Kaepernick wasn't the best quarterback in his later years, but this doesn't mean he's worthless in the NFL. If he can make it in the NFL once, there's a 100% chance that he should be able to come back. Claiming that kaepernick is a citizen of the year is a HUGE statement. Just as we learned in the previous chapters about the media, they put out what their audience WANTS to see, and what will give them the most attention. Obviously, putting a controversial former NFL player is something that would attract much attention which is a good market for the magazine.
This whole Kaepernick situation has been a very complicated situation from the very beginning, and I am often torn between siding with the NFL and Kaepernick. In many ways, I agree with many of the previous commentators that the manner in which Kaepernick has been treated has been unjust. While I do not know if he is actually better than "75%" of the quarterbacks in the league, I do know that he is definitely better than Jay Cutler, who the Miami Dolphins hired over him, along with the current 49ers quarterback. At the same time, I do acknowledge that at the NFL is a business, and at the end of the day many team owners realize that hiring Kaepernick will bring along the negative attention and controversy and ultimately cause them to loose money What I think is key, however, is that all of the players in the NFL respect Kaepernick's efforts, and still think that he is a great player worthy of being in the NFL. To me, this makes it very hard to not think that he is being treated unjustly, but at the same time, the fact that the NFL is a business to me outweighs all of this. I do tend to think that Kaepernick's attempt at protesting one of the greatest issues in our nation costed him his job and national image, and that teams are not hiring him because of this. This itself is a shame, but because the NFL is a business, at the end of it all I do not think it is unjust. The NFL has all of the power in this station, and they have the right to not hiring Kaepernick for whatever reason, shameful or not, that they wish.
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