If NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is truly sorry for failing to listen to NFL players protesting racism, he can prove it by opening the door for ostracized free agent Colin Kaepernick to return to the league, the Reverend Al Sharpton said Tuesday at George Floyd's memorial service in Houston.
'The head of the NFL said, "Yeah, maybe we was wrong; football players, maybe they did have the right to peacefully protest,"' Sharpton said of Goodell's recent mea culpa in which he admitted he should have encouraged the protesting players over the last three years. 'Well, don't apologize. Give Colin Kaepernick a job back!'
The debate over NFL players kneeling in protest during the national anthem has only intensified since Floyd, a black man, died May 25 in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. His death has spurred global protests against police brutality and racial injustice, which Kaepernick protested by kneeling during the national anthem beginning in August of 2016.
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If NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is truly sorry for failing to listen to NFL players protesting racism, he can prove it by opening the door for ostracized free agent Colin Kaepernick to return to the league, Reverend Al Sharpton said Tuesday at George Floyd's memorial service
On Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (right) released a video saying, in part, 'We, the National Football League, were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier.' However, he did so without mentioning the man who started the protests, Colin Kaepernick (left)
Kaepernick, 32, has not played since the end of the 2016 season, and he eventually settled a collusion case with the NFL last spring. Last fall, Kaepernick took part in a workout that was organized in part by the league, but the sides disagreed on several aspects of the workout, leading to a late change of location and lower attendance by scouts.
He has reportedly been training in hopes of an NFL return.
'Don't come with some empty apology,' Sharpton continued, referring to the NFL. 'Take a man's livelihood. Strip a man down of his talents. And four years later, when the whole world is marching, all of a sudden you go and do a FaceTime, talk about you sorry.
Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police has sparked outrage around the world
'Minimizing the value of our lives. You sorry? Then repay the damage you did to the career you stood down - because when Colin took a knee, he took it for for the families in this building. And we don't want an apology. We want him repaired.'
On Friday, Goodell released a video saying, in part, 'We, the National Football League, were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier.'
Goodell also encouraged all players to 'speak out and peacefully protest.'
That came in response to a video with more than a dozen star players -- including reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and Pro Bowlers Saquon Barkley and Deshaun Watson -- asking the league to admit it was wrong for 'silencing our players from peacefully protesting.' That video was reportedly produced with the help of a rogue NFL employee, who worked with New Orleans Saints wideout Michael Thomas.
Reaction to Goodell's video has been mixed.
New Orleans Saints safety and Players Coalition co-founder Malcolm Jenkins said the NFL's support of players fighting social injustice will not be enough if the league doesn't address the Kaepernick issue.
'I still don't think they've gotten it right,' Jenkins said Tuesday in an appearance on 'CBS This Morning.' 'Until they apologize specifically to Colin Kaepernick, or sign him to a team, I don't think that they will end up on the right side of history.
'At the end of the day, they've listened to their players, they've donated money, they've created an Inspire Change platform. They've tried to do things up unto this point. But it's been one player in particular that they have ignored and have not acknowledged, and that's Colin Kaepernick.'
.'.. That's the only thing people want to hear. If it's not going to correct that or acknowledge that, then everything else doesn't need to be said.'
Asked about Kaepernick during a video conference with reporters Tuesday, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said the free agent 'should have every opportunity' to be back in the league.
'He created awareness for a situation that, it's taking some time, but people are becoming more active in terms of their response to it,' Ryan said. 'So I think from that standpoint, his protest is being heard at this point. It might have taken too long, but I think he should have every opportunity to have a job and to have a spot in this league.'
A man protests outside of the training facility where the Colin Kaepernick private NFL workout was being held on November 16, 2019 in Flowery Branch, Georgia
A man waits outside of the training facility where the Colin Kaepernick private NFL workout was being held on November 16, 2019 in Flowery Branch, Georgia
In a piece published by TIME on Tuesday, Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller referenced Goodell's statement, saying the stance is 'great' as long as owners follow through.
'While it's great that the NFL made an official statement in support of Black Lives Matter and the right to peaceful protest, it will ultimately be up to the team owners to put league policy into action and walk the walk,' Miller wrote.
The debate over whether Kaepernick belongs in the league has been a constant theme over the last few years as many NFL teams have struggled to find competent quarterbacks.
Kaepernick did lead the 49ers to three consecutive NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl, and his career 88.9 quarterback rating is superior to the marks of several quarterbacks who started over the last three seasons.
New Orleans Saints safety and Players Coalition co-founder Malcolm Jenkins (center) said the NFL's support of players fighting social injustice will not be enough if the league doesn't address the Kaepernick issue
Recently All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins told GQ that he got mad in 2018 when the Houston Texans needed a quarterback but did not reach out to Kaepernick.
'Yeah, I was upset,' said Hopkins, now a member of the Arizona Cardinals who played for Houston in 2018. 'Everybody needed to give Kaep a look. He can help a team win. I've seen a lot of quarterbacks that's not as good as Kaep, but teams don't want the heat behind them.'
Over his six-year NFL career, Kaepernick completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns and just 30 interceptions. He also ran for 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns, gaining 6.1 yards per carry.
Previously both Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said they feel as though Kaepernick is good enough to be playing in the NFL, and Rogers went so far as to tell ESPN that he believes the former University of Nevada star remains a free agent because of the protests.
However, Kaepernick won only 11 of 35 starts from 2014 to 2016, and had lost his starting job by the end of the 2016 campaign in San Francisco.