It's more complicated than you might think. First off, the elevation of Kaepernick to starter status following Alex Smith's injury was a monumental coaching mistake. Kaepernick was never more than a competent back-up. Alex Smith has proven to be a winner ever since. It was just part of a series of coaching errors that have plagued the 49ers in their free-fall to the cellar-dwelling status they now hold. It happens all the time in professional sports. The NFL is probably the least forgiving and most prone to mistake. The seasons are brief and brutal. There is very little margin for error.
Here's the truth. Kaepernick signed a new contract that paid him just less than 14 million up front. Ever after, his performance wasn't just suspect. He stank up the joint. NFL player/personnel people notice that and avoid those types of players. There was never a chance he would be signed by an elite team based on his performance alone. If you add in his "social" baggage he rendered himself unemployable. Now, his time away from the league probably means the reasonable and understandable end to his NFL career quite apart from any "social" consideration. You would think he would know that. Perhaps he does know that.
As a degenerate gambler and an avid sports fan that ends the sports aspect of this discussion. It would be nice if the discussion stopped there but it hasn't and it's not going to. It would be a good joke if I could say, "Houston, we have a problem." but Houston isn't going to sign him either.
Now, it gets serious. This guy managed to step into some powerful, complex and perhaps, dangerous currents in our society. First, let's deal with misconceptions about NFL players. Maybe the graduation rate isn't as good as it could be but the truth is, these are highly accomplished individuals with great wealth who have had more than a little exposure to a detailed, higher education. If they speak up, people should and do listen. That can be troubling.
There is something going on with the police in this country. Not all police but there is a kind of misled minority that's becoming more and more vocal. I happen to think the widespread abuse of PEDs by law enforcement is a major problem. I think it's a bigger problem in law enforcement than it is in sports and we're seeing that play out. If you add in the constant undercurrent of racism you begin to see the extent of the problem and you can begin to understand what we're seeing.
Then we add in the current appeal to the worst impulses of the least among us. That's not new. We've always had these recurring waves of nativism and 'know nothing-ism' and we've always had those willing to motivate and exploit those waves. The thing that I think is worrisome and perhaps dangerous is the convergence of these things and the unrealistic responses.
Look, it's impossible to look at the cases of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown and others and not understand why reasonable people could conclude they were murdered. You can certainly understand why black folks might want to point out Black Lives Matter. They do. How did the backlash become so vociferous? How did these understandable conclusions become conflated with some sort of disloyalty? How the hell did respect for the military get involved in this? There are actually people who want to start a civil war over this. Hell, there are people who think we should have a civil war over the Fed or Windows 10 but this looks a little more serious but it's going nowhere.
It's 50 years since the era of 1968, 69, 70. Major national figures just flat murdered. A guy like Wallace polled 13% of the vote nationwide. We had a record number of policemen murdered for no reason other than they were policemen. The Chicago police literally rioted on national television. We had millions in the streets in direct opposition to and a total disrespect for the military and the government in general. People didn't kneel they stood up and burned the damned colored bits of cloth by the thousands. As Dylan pointed out, it wasn't civil war. Revolution was in the air.
What happened? Well, it was the largest economic enterprise in the world bound together by common goals, common education, common aspirations, common entertainments and occupations. By dint of education and simple decency, we reformed, progressed and excelled. Our international relations were repaired. The malefactors trooped off to jail and for the most part, died in shame. Not much happened nor will it.
So what is wrong? Hell, it's all wrong. Kaepernick will be a hero and a villain for at least a decade but one thing he'll probably never be again is an NFL quarterback.
I hope that clears it up for ya. Enjoy the show.
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