Professional talking heads have tried to use every excuse in the book to explain why Colin Kaepernick does not currently have an NFL job. Everything from his girlfriend's tweets to Donald Trump have been credited as the reason he's out of work, while lesser talents are Week One starters around the league.
One overriding belief has popped up time and time again from his critics, and it's that Kaepernick doesn't really care that much about football. There's no real basis for this suggestion, but it has been a constant talking point among people who want to continue criticizing Kaepernick no matter how much effort he makes to make the best of his situation.
You can count former Pittsburgh Steelers coach and current CBS analyst Bill Cowher among those critics. During CBS' Sunday pre-game show, Cowher openlyquestioned the out-of-work QB's prioritization of football when discussing his job prospects.
Are you really committed to wanting to come back to the National Football League and reestablish yourself as a National Football League player? Are you really committed to your craft? Are you going to take the opportunity that any team might give you? Don't let the contract situation get in the way. Your agent can put performance clauses in there that if you play, you will get paid. Colin, your silence speaks volumes. And I just wonder, maybe the platform is more important to him than his play on the field. And you know what, Colin, prove me wrong.
The irony here is that Cowher is asking Kaepernick to do something in one context that he has been actively criticized for in another. When Kaepernick is in the middle of speaking out against police brutality and using peaceful protest to start a dialogue, the response from his critics is, "Shut up and play football." But now that's apparently not enough, and Cowher suggests Kaepernick needs to speak up more about wanting to play.
His desire to play should be pretty obvious, because if Kaepernick had no interest in football, he could have easily walked away into a cushy public speaking career, or turned the publicity from his protest into full-time activism. Instead, he spent the offseason looking for a spot on an NFL team, only to be turned away by a league that may be blackballing the 29-year-old quarterback.
Cowher's comments did not go over well on social media, where the head coach was crushed for trying to make excuses for why Kaepernick was being kept out of the league.
Bless #BillCowher idiot heart! He's delusional. #Kap doesn't have to speak. He owes you nothing. His message is equality. #NFLTODAY #CBS
.@CowherCBS just placed the blame on @Kaepernick7 for not getting signed, completely ignored overwhelming conservative team owners #NFLToday
Bill Cowher bashing Kaepernick about work ethic while Jay Cutler is lining up behind center for Miami is cringeworthy at best.
The lies told about Kaepernick remain startling to me.
People just straight up lying about him. https://t.co/TyQKjdQ30c
Bill Cowher says that Kap is not on a team because of football reasons. Then maybe he can explain why Osweiller still has a job? I'll wait
And by the way, even if Kaepernick decided a platform to speak out against injustice is more important than football, am I supposed to believe that's a bad thing? The NFL is great at trying to make both players and fans feel that they should care about nothing aside from football, but that's a flat-out insane way for anyone to live their life, professional athlete or not.
Yes, Colin Kaepernick cares deeply about the causes he has protested over. That has no impact on whether he's committed to being the best quarterback he can be, or why he's currently searching for an opportunity.
