Source: Miami Herald / Getty
Colin Kaepernick hasn’t played an NFL game since the 2016 season and commissioner Roger Goodell finally addressed the elephant in the room during a Super Bowl press conference.
“I think if a team decides that Colin Kaepernick, or any other player, can help their team win, that’s what they’ll do,” Goodell said, according to a video posted by Atlanta-based channel 11Alive. “They want to win and they make those decisions individually, to the best interest of their club.”
After two years of Kaepernick not being in the pocket, the media wasn’t going to let Goodell get away with a roundabout answer like that so the press continued to, well, press.
According to TMZ, CBS Sports reporter Jason La Canfora poignantly asked Goodell how he thinks history will look at the NFL’s handling of Kaepernick’s activism.
“I’ve said it many times, privately, publicly, that our clubs are the ones that make decisions on players that they want to have on their roster,” Goodell responded without really responding. “They make that individually, they make that in the best interest of their team. And that’s something that we as the NFL take pride in.”
Kaepernick was an elite player in the league, and his accolades include a Super Bowl appearance and holds the league’s second-lowest interception percentage ever. While Goodell can sidestep questions it’s clear why an ex-quarterback like 43-year-old Matt Hasselbeck is still getting inquired about his ability to play while Kaep continues to passed over for jobs. He took a stand for his political and racial beliefs and his passion for football was snatched from him.
