‘We don’t want an apology. We want him repaired…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) At George Floyd’s funeral on Tuesday, Rev. Al Sharpton demanded that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell give failed quarterback Colin Kaepernick “his job back.”
Goodell apologized in a statement last week for not listening to NFL players who kneeled during the national anthem.
But Sharpton argued that if the NFL really wants to start listening, it should rehire Kaepernick, who was phased out of the league due to poor performance.
“Some people change their mind,” Sharpton said, according to NBC News. “The head of the NFL said: ‘Yeah, maybe we was wrong. Football players, maybe they did have the right to peacefully protest.’ Well, don’t apologize. Give Colin Kaepernick a job back.”
Sharpton accused the NFL of “minimizing” the “value of our lives” and stripping Kaepernick “of his talents.”
“You sorry? Then repay the damage you did to the career you stood down ’cause when Colin took a knee, he took it for the families in this building. And we don’t want an apology. We want him repaired,” he said.
Kaepernick has had several opportunities to rejoin the NFL since he was dropped from the San Francisco 49ers.
The NFL agreed to host a workout for Kaepernick last year and invited more than a dozen teams to observe his performance.
But at the last minute, Kaepernick backed out, claiming he disagreed with the NFL’s decision to prohibit media attendance.
As a result, few teams attended the workout, and none of them are interested in signing Kaepernick.
“This was about creating an opportunity,” Goodell said back in December. “We created that opportunity. It was a unique opportunity, a credible opportunity and he chose not to take it. I understand that. We’ve moved on.”
Even Kaepernick’s allies, including rapper Jay-Z, blasted him for turning a “legitimate” opportunity into a “publicity stunt.”
Kaepernick, however, has continued to insist that the NFL is at fault for “blocking” him from the league.