Reaction to the NFL’s “Kaepernick Policy” Reveals Fractures in Ownership’s United Front
I’m interested in stories, and since its inception, I’ve been riveted by the story Colin Kaepernick has been trying to tell with his protest. I’ve always tried in my small way to fight for it to be heard, because I knew it was going to be muddied up by cynical propaganda. The narrative is simultaneously clear yet nebulous and difficult to pin down, because the true antagonist is systemic, institutionalized racism. The racialized police violence he took a knee to condemn is the most egregious symptom of the disease.
Until the NFL wrote itself into Kaepernick’s story, there was no clear villain, no single malfeasant entity to point to. The league made itself Goliath to his David when it chose to injure him, and it has escalated matters at every turn.
I’ve written about not understanding why so many pundits and commentators were ready to accept the assertion (often taken as self-evident) that Kaepernick’s legal team would have a hard time finding evidence that NFL teams colluded to deny him employment. Especially when the NFL owners and management have so comprehensively bungled every step of the aftermath of his protest.
The latest round of farcical stumbling around and walking into door frames comes from Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office.
