Tim Tebow #15 of the Denver Broncos kneels and prayers with teammates and members of the New England Patriots after the Patriots won 45-10 during their AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Gillette Stadium on January 14, 2012, in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
He quit his job and can’t find another, and Hollywood is calling it racist?
On March 3, 2017, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers, and made himself a free agent. That turned out to be a poor decision — so far, no other franchise wants him.
Much of the reluctance on the part of the 32 NFL teams to sign Kaepernick is rooted in his controversial practice of taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem in protest to what he believes is a racist America.
He began by sitting out the “Star Spangled Banner” at the start of the 49ers August pre-season games, stating, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."
He eventually switched from sitting to kneeling, and the practice soon gathered steam among other players, and the response from fans was immediate — and brutal.
One-third of former NFL TV viewers said no thanks — they weren’t interested in politicizing either the game or the anthem and channel-surfed instead.
And because the other teams want no part of this, Hollywood and the left is crying foul.
A “United We Stand” rally, organized by the Empowerment Movement and the Justice League NYC, among others, is scheduled for August 23 outside the NFL’s New York City headquarters.
A similar event was held May 24 in support of the unemployed quarterback — it attracted some 50 protesters, Sports Illustrated reported.
The upcoming protest may draw a few more than that. The groups are heavily promoting the event, and they even designed a spiffy-looking poster — which misspells Kaepernick (the first “e” is missing).
First, protesting outside NFL headquarters accomplishes nothing: The league can’t tell the teams who to hire and who not to hire.
Second, the issue upon which they’re hanging their hat — racism — doesn’t exist in the NFL.
A Vice Sports survey indicated that while African Americans comprise six percent of the population of the United States, they make up 70 percent of the NFL lineup.
Also, Kaepernick doesn’t appear to be a victim of racism, not with a $22 million net worth and his $11.9 million salary with the 49ers.
As for the underlying issue of the NFLer’s protest — racism in “the land of the free” — the facts don’t support the premise.
Although racism exists everywhere, a four-year study called the World Values Survey concluded that of the more than 50 nations examined, the United States was among the most racially tolerant.
About five years earlier another quarterback became controversial by also dropping to one knee. But Tim Tebow, a straight-arrow and a devout Christian, didn’t do it out of protest — he did it to praise God in a pose that became known as “Tebowing.”
Tebow ended his NFL career by signing a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, competing fort a third-string quarterback position. He was released after playing the fourth pre-season game.
He didn’t complain about being let go, and no one demonstrated in his support. He just dusted himself off, switched gears and went from the NFL to Major League Baseball. He now plays in the outfield for the New York Mets.
Sports Illustrated’s Peter King once called Tebow “the most polite interview in NFL history.”
But that’s not what creates attention-grabbing headlines — being a multi-million dollar crybaby who whines that he can’t get a job because of his false narrative does.
