Should the Federal Government force an NFL team to give a contract to Colin Kaepernick?

I think you’re misrepresenting the debate. The league keeps saying that he’s not blacklisted and that his lack of a job has little or nothing to do with his politics. But if it’s just his abilities, then Kaepernick being mediocre is only a good reason for him to be out of a job if every other quarterback in the league is better than him. Do you think he’s worse than Bortles? How about Cutler, Mallett, or McCown? And is he also worse than every backup QB in the league? Hackenberg can’t even make it through offensive drills.

No one thinks the NFL should be compelled to give Kaepernick a job. They think the official reasons for him being unemployed are bullshit. No one is obligated to give him a job, and no one is violating the law by keeping him off their team. But it’s obviously politics, and people who disagree with those politics have every right to call it out as such. They also have the right to vote with their feet and their wallets.

I watched Colin play when he was at UNR. He is better than mediocre.
He was known as the all American kid, active with community, donating his time, and always the best behaved guy on the team.
I feel very confused about how things have changed with him, or at least seem to.
I remember him as a sweet, talented young man. I wish things hadn’t gotten so weird.

That’s not going to happen. I’m not sure where you heard it.

Patty’s right. He’s not a bad kid, and his play is not mediocre. In his short time starting, he helped his team to two NFC championship games, and played in one Super Bowl.

Without question, his talents would allow him to be a good backup, who could push for a starting gig. He’s physically comparable to Cam Newton. He even has the same weakness of missing high.

As long as team owners are making business decisions based on dollars and cents (which is the case here), the federal government has no legitimate reason to intervene.

Mr. Kaepernick decided to make a personal, public statement against racial bias in this country, which only a fool would argue does not exist.

Team owners worry about the very large ratio of their customer base who would become upset over the signing of Kaepernick, not because of his race, but because of what they see as open disrespect for our nation’s ideals (this is called ‘irony’, I think).

Anyway, long story short: It is much easier to avoid a political shitstorm than to give it a contract….

@josie No. He’s either a player or an activist. He can choose.

I dunno. Is the NFL still dependent on the government granting them non-profit status so they can avoid paying taxes?

^Correct. The NFL doesn’t pay taxes…

@si3tech Maybe this comes as a surprise to you, but it’s possible to be more than one thing at the same time.