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Earlier this week, Colin Kaepernick reminded us it’s been almost 900 days since the last time he played in a league where Nathan Peterman is still considered a viable backup quarterback.
If Kapernick is to be believed, the reason he’s been absent from the NFL for as long as he has stems back to his choice to protest police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem, as the quarterback maintains he was blackballed for his decision to have the nerve to take advantage of his First Amendment rights.
Kapernick eventually settled with the NFL (it’s believed he received around $10 million for his troubles) but remains without a home to this day despite the fact that 95% of current players believe he should have a spot on a roster.
More than a few people were very displeased with Kapernick’s kneeling but not many of them were more vocal than Donald Trump, who did what seems to be one of his favorite things when he suggested the QB leave the country.
Now, it appears Trump has had a change of heart, as he spoke to reporters on Friday and revealed he thinks the former 49er should get a second shot—under one condition.
President Trump on if Colin Kaepernick should get an opportunity to play in the NFL: “Only If he’s good enough. I know the owners, I know Bob Kraft. They will do anything they can to win games”
(via @tictoc) pic.twitter.com/THgoNaYqIp
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 9, 2019
Here’s what he had to say when asked if Kaepernick should be in the league:
“Only if he’s good enough. If he was good enough, they’d hire him. Why wouldn’t he play if he was good enough? I think if he’s good enough, I know the owners—I know [Robert] Kraft, I know so many of the owners—if he’s good enough, they’d sign him. I know these people. They would sign him in a heartbeat. They would do anything they can to win games.”
The conspiracy theorist in me can’t help but notice the line about knowing many of the owners, as Kaepernick’s lawyers previously claimed Trump lobbied NFL owners to keep him out of the league.
With that said, I think this is one of the rare situations where we can all agree Trump makes a pretty valid point. I guess we’ll have to wait to see what happens as this saga doesn’t show any signs of ending any time soon.