Reasonable people can agree the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell are deserving of criticism for their mishandling of discipline and the game's ongoing concussion problem. Those are clearly shortcomings for the league. However, The Washington Post's Jerry Brewer, already a confirmed Colin Kaepernick cheerleader, lumps those universal concerns in with the Left's rally for the one man most conspicuous for his absence from the game this season.
Brewer insists Kaepernick is being blackballed. There is absolutely no evidence for this oft-repeated claim, but so often it's emotion that inspires lib media more than facts. What part of "no such evidence" do lefties like Brewer not understand?
The Kaepernick apologist is further troubled by another imagined slight -- "the overall NFL ambivalence toward its players’ legitimate concerns about equality and social justice." That's strange. Goodell and NFL coaches have spoken up in favor of the players' expression of support for Kaepernick and other pet causes of the Left. Goodell has praised former NBA player Jason Collins for coming out of the closet.
This ambivalence claim is unfounded. And we have yet to see an NFL head coach or owner disagree with the players who've knelt during the national anthem or spoken out on social issues. They're playing it safe because they don't dare oppose the political correctness of the intolerant fascists on the Left.
The greater issue, Brewer complains, is that, "All of these grievances fall under one huge, disheartening umbrella: The NFL doesn’t respect humanity."
These and other Brewer complaints make it "impossible" for him to want his young son to play football "when there are so many indications that the game, at its highest level, doesn’t care about its participants." His son is five and not close to the highest level. But at least he would be spared of all the social justice nonsense if he played Pop Warner ball.
Brewer hopes the number of Kaepernistas boycotting the NFL will grow:
You saw the rally to support Kaepernick in New York last month. On Change.org, there is a #NoKaepernickNoNFL petition, and more than 176,000 have signed it and pledged not to watch any games until the free agent quarterback is signed to a contract. That’s a sizable number, and over a long period, the movement could become larger and make the NFL’s pockets lighter. But the truth is that this season will go on without them, the league will make a ton of money, and shortsighted owners will continue to treat a considerable portion of their workforce and their fan base like they don’t matter.
One can also conclude the opposite is true. NFL owners, acting separately from one another, know Kaepernick is toxic goods and they'll suffer damaging fallout if they do put this marginal quarterback on their team.
Brewer's love-hate relationship with the NFL has now swung over to hate, and if he didn't choose to cover the league for a living, he would boycott the league. The almighty dollar obviously speaks louder than principle! He wouldn't be the first media member to boycott though. Shaun King promised to do the same thing months ago before he left his job as a social justice warrior at The New York Daily News.
Based on the poor example set by the NFL, Brewer doesn't want either of his two sons "to inherit my love for a game that treats its players like toys and its fans like breathing dollar bills."
Does Brewer include the fans of Kaepernick in that group? After all, Kaepernick still profits from the sale of his 49ers' jerseys, valued at $99 a pop by one source. What's more, if NFL teams treat their players like "toys," there are ample reasons why none of them want to pull the loudly clanking, high-maintenance Kaepernick toy off the shelf.
The 2017 season NFL season has started without Kaepernick. It's time for media crybabies to get over it and move on.
