Source: Jaime Crawford / Getty
If it were up to Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, Colin Kaepernick would be back in the NFL.
In an interview with NBC Sports for an upcoming episode of Race in America: A Candid Conversation, the 66-year-old owner expressed his support for the polarizing quarterback, and if it was up to him, he would welcome Kaepernick to the Las Vegas Raiders “with open arms.”
“I believe in Colin Kaepernick,” Davis said. “He deserves every chance in the world to become a quarterback in the National Football League. I still stand by it. If our coaches and general manager want to bring him in or want him to be the quarterback on this team, I would welcome him with open arms.”
Easier said than done. Even though Davis owns the team, all roster decisions are made by new Head Coach Josh McDaniels and new General Manager Dave Ziegler, who, unlike their boss, have not expressed the same interest in Kaepernick. But we can all hope they do the right thing right? Further in the interview, Davis compared Kaepernick to Tommie Smith, the sprinter best known for raising his fist on the medal platform alongside bronze medalist John Carlos after winning the gold medal in the 1968 Olympics in protest of racism in America.
“I think Colin is a very misunderstood human being,” Davis further added. “I’ve gotten a chance to talk to him. I never really knew Colin, and I didn’t understand him. I didn’t understand the kneeling, what that meant initially. Over time, I have learned a little bit more about it.”
Kaepernick, for his part, has been staying game ready and keeping his body in shape and still very much wants to play professional football in the NFL. Speaking with the I Am Athlete podcast, Kaepernick said he is willing to take a backup QB role, taking Carmelo Anthony’s route, who famously couldn’t find an NBA team to bring him in at one point before embracing a sixth man role.
“I know I have to find my way back in. So if I have to come in as a backup, that’s fine,” Kaepernick told Chad Johnson, Brandon Marshall, and Adama “Pacman” Jones. “But that’s not where I’m staying. And when I prove that I’m a starter, I want to be able to step on the field as such.”
We got our fingers crossed for Kap.
Photo: Jaime Crawford / Getty
