Free Agent QB Colin Kaepernick Still Anxiously Awaiting New Job In NFL
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EAST RUTHERFORD (CBSMiami) – Quarterback Colin Kaepernick took his team to the Super Bowl just a few years ago, but the 29 year old is without an NFL team so far this year and some believe it has nothing to do with his football skills.
NFL preseason training camps are underway but you won't find free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick at any of them.
The former San Francisco 49er ignited a firestorm last year when he refused to stand for the national anthem in protest of what he called the oppression of black people.
"There are a lot of things that need to change, one in specific is police brutality there are people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable," Kaepernick said last year.
Kaepernick has reportedly said he would stand for the anthem this year, but team after team has chosen other options.
"I do not have an update on Colin Kaepernick or our quarterback situation," Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said earlier this week.
The Ravens have been the only team so far this year linked to possibly signing Kaepernick, though as of Wednesday no move has been made.
The New York Giants brought three quarterbacks to training camp to try out for the backup job, but not Kaepernick.
Team owner, John Mara, says the controversy "may have scared some teams away" but there is no organized effort to blackball him.
Some disagree, including outspoken ESPN commentator Stephen A Smith
Film director Spike Lee lent support by retweeting an advertisement for a planned Kaepernick rally later this month outside NFL headquarters.
Carmen Perez, co-founder of Justice League NYC, is helping organize the rally.
"We also want to send a clear message to the NFL," Perez said. "If people feel politically connected to their communities they should be able to make a statement."
Perez says Kaepernick, who she's friends with, is training on his own every day.