Blind Item #10
Despite a flurry of positive publicity for this pro athlete, that blackballing is really hurting his chances of getting work.
Despite a flurry of positive publicity for this pro athlete, that blackballing is really hurting his chances of getting work.
Posted by ent lawyer at 4:00 AM
Labels: blind item
Colin kaperneck gave $50,000 to Meals on Wheels yesterday
ReplyDeleteColin Kaerpatrick
ReplyDeleteColin Kaepernick
ReplyDeleteToo fu##ing bad for that piece of garbage if that indeed is who this is about. A fraud. Blackball him up to Saskatoon.
ReplyDeleteIf owners think they are going to make money off an athlete, they pay them.
ReplyDeleteIf owners think an athlete is not as good as the athlete thinks they are, they don't get signed.
Colin isn't as good as he thinks, thus the blackball accusations from an egomaniac.
Hey, i always thought I was a great basketball player, I was never signed, they must have blackballed me!
I agree he's not as good as he thinks he is - a lot of us were fooled his first season out.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe he's been blackballed in any way.
As you said, owners don't care about anything but output.
That's an incredibly naive way of looking at it. Cute almost. NFL owners and GM's are the most petty and immature ppl in the world. They give horrible QB's like Mike Glennon, EJ Manuel, and McCown 10s of millions of $$$ but the QB who led his team to a superbowl isn't good enough? Bullshit. It's blackballing and saying otherwise is an insult to ppl's intelligence.
ReplyDeleteThey don't care about anything but output yet they gave the worst rated qb for the past 2 years millions to play in the biggest media market in the country? Bless your heart.
ReplyDeleteI see a strong potential for a bit of both: Colin / his agent think he's more deserving ($$$) than his skills warrant, but also that many owners and GMs are loathe to hire him even if he's got more talent that some of the others on their rosters. Both to 'punish' him, but also worrying about their teams' fans' blowback for hiring him.
ReplyDeleteThe D led that team the Super Bowl
ReplyDeletehe's being blackballed. his qbr last year was greater than Eli Manning or Cam Newton. To say he isn't worth at least a back-up spot is insane, and probably the position of someone who cares more about what happens on the sidelines and off-field than actual qb play.
ReplyDeleteHe's definitely being blackballed. This isn't even blind gossip site fodder, it's been vetted by actual news reporters who have spoken with various team officials. There's maybe 15-20% of teams that worry that he may be physically shot as a player, but would otherwise have interest. Maybe another 15-20% that worry about the impact of his prior protest would have amongst ticket buyers (but not having a problem with his protest, themselves), and then a good 50-60% that really despise him and are trying to ensure he doesn't play in the league. They are wielding their influence on the on-the-fence teams to not sign him.
ReplyDeleteI won't go into the specifics of his play, but he was above the median last year as a QB in every metric you can find, except wins (which is a team stat, not an individual one). The 49ers stunk in many ways, but not because Kaepernick was god awful. He's not the QB he looked like when he took the league by storm the first two years he played, but he's not the garbage that some want others to believe. He's mediocre, but good enough to be at least a backup somewhere.
Personally, I applaud him for not being a one-hit wonder as a protester. He's taken his commitment to the cause he took up seriously, and has been donating the money he promised ($1 million), even in the face of potentially not having a salary this upcoming year. You don't have to agree with his politics, but I don't think he's a phony by any stretch.
He's blackballed because he's a distraction and the media circus that comes with him. Tim Tebow won games but because the media was so focused on his religion and how he lived his life he became a distraction...regardless of skill set
ReplyDeleteThe problem is teams don't want to put up with a mediocre backup QB who brings a media circus along with them and one who will potentially divide the team with their politics.
ReplyDeleteBut if owners feel his presence will result in fan boycotts and cost them season-ticket holders, is that blackballing or smart business? Owners are not in the business of pissing off the people with the money.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that blackballed is the right word. The owners haven't all gotten together and agreed no one should/will sign him. He put himself in a position where most if not all teams don't want to deal with his drama and possible fallout and he's not good enough to justify the risk. I guess you could say his political stance is the reason why he is in this position but if a team thought he was good enough to justify the negative risks they would probably sign him. Someone might well still sign him if his $$ demands drop. I suspect he is looking for starter money when he will most likely be a backup (another reason to take a pass, who wants that drama from a probable backup.)
ReplyDeleteAgree with a lot of what you say but interesting that he let it be known he wouldn't be sitting/kneeling for National Anthem anymore just before he became a free agent. Even with that assurance it doesn't mean he will do some other type of protest after someone signs him and gives him a bonus. Most teams don't want to risk it. I wonder what he would do if someone offered to sign him with a contract provision saying he won't do public protests??
ReplyDeleteWait. He announced, never mind, he won't be kneeling this coming season? That's funny.
ReplyDeleteYes, Colin made himself radioactive. People use sports to get away from things yet the NFL's chose to bring those things onto the field thru one set of eyes, no debate or discussion. He was just there kneeling and people asking why as opposed why did they punt the ball. Colin chose to make himself the symbol of fan displeasure and owners are guilty for allowing it. This is when they should have hired been counters to tell them to support the non-football related protests or face threats to your $10 billion dollar a year industry. Had they chosen the latter, Colin might still have his job.
ReplyDeleteAnnounce no more kneeling, send food to Africa, Meals on Wheels = Please hire me. So transparent. He needs to fire the people that told him to use his job to protest, specially when your skills are on the decline if not rock bottom.
ReplyDeleteCollin started strong and had a lot of promise but he is third string material at best. A step above Tim Tebow. Too many newer guys coming up. Can't wait to see what Prescott brings this year.
ReplyDeleteOh, he's a phony. He announced he would not be kneeling next year.
ReplyDeleteActually, he didn't announce that. It was leaked that he wasn't going to continue kneeling, but, per sources close to him and the non-profits he's been donating to, he actually considered stopping this year, but felt he had brought enough media attention to the 49ers and didn't want that decision to become yet another distraction. His original intent was to draw attention to the issue, and he said he would continue until he felt, in essence, people started to take the issue seriously. The amount of discussion and other protests among players in football and other sports did that. Given that his teammates gave him the most prestigious award that a player can be given as a 49er (the Len Eshmont - for most inspiring/courageous player), speaks a lot.
ReplyDeleteEasy to denounce him from the comfort of your armchair or whatever. Again, it's not about agreeing with him, but recognizing when someone actually follows through. I was skeptical, myself, and didn't agree with his methods, initially. But I'm open minded enough to give him credit where it's due. He wasn't a phony, and, despite not 'kneeling' (kneeling was never solving anything, it was a means to get a message across), he's continuing in more important ways in supporting his beliefs.
I totally agree that a team has the right to decide not to hire him if they feel he'll be a distraction. I'm not disputing that. I'm saying that anyone thinking he's not being blackballed isn't really following the news or this issue carefully. NFL owners are fairly conservative (as are many front office folks), so it's not surprising they don't agree with his protest. His skill is not the issue, it is absolutely his politics. And Kaepernick had to know this when he took this on. It's his cross to bear.
Don't follow the story or the sport (is it the not standing for the anthem guy?), but to be clear, this guy is being discriminated against in his workplace for his political/religious beliefs and conservatives are ok with that?
ReplyDelete@Non-American: I don't follow the sport either, but from what I've heard, he's not being "discriminated against" for his beliefs, but having difficulty getting hired because the "clients" (fans, season ticket holders, etc.) are unhappy with his essentially forcing his beliefs on them.
ReplyDeleteAs an example, if I believe in God, & someplace refuses to hire me because of that belief, that's discrimination. If I try to start a meeting with a prayer, that goes beyond having a belief, to essentially forcing my belief on other people. That's not tolerated.
[…] March 22, 2017 […]
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