The Seattle Seahawks may be reconsidering an offer to have Colin Kaepernick try out for the team after he would not say he’d stop his national anthem kneeling protests.
Though no final decisions have been made, the embattled quarterback’s planned trip to a pre-season camp with the team was put on ice by team officials when he declined to say the protests would stop, a league source told ESPN on Thursday.
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has been a free agent since he ignited the controversy when he began kneeling during the national anthem in the 2016 season as a protest against police brutality. The protests ignited backlash against the NFL and President Trump added fuel to the fire when he called for Kaepernick and other protesting players to be suspended for their actions.
No other NFL team has asked him to join since Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers.
Kaepernick was contacted by the Seahawks about two weeks ago to visit the team headquarters, according to a source, but the trip, which was already planned and arrangements made, was postponed unexpectedly after discussion over the player’s stance on the protests.
“The source said the Seahawks wanted to know that Kaepernick wouldn’t kneel this season, and he was unwilling to give that assurance to them,” ESPN reported.
Kaepernick sat for his deposition with NFL lawyers in New York on Tuesday in the grievance case he filed against the NFL in October. Kaepernick has accused the NFL of conspiring to keep him out of the league.
ESPN senior correspondent Jemele Hill, who was briefly suspended in October after calling for an advertiser boycott of the Dallas Cowboys, tweeted out her reaction to the Seahawks decision on Kaepernick.
You mean it wasn’t just a football decision? ::clutches imaginary pearls:: https://t.co/9XuBfT8so0
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 12, 2018
She followed with several other tweets and responses defending Kaepernick’s disrespect for the American flag.
This train is never late. Players are not required to stand for the national anthem, by the way. And I didn’t realize protesting racism was “politics.” I thought it was right and wrong. Guess not, so please share your pro-racism argument, then. https://t.co/0GcIZgsapA
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 12, 2018
He’s such a lockeroom cancer that his teammates gave him the Len Eshmont Award, which is given to the player who best exemplifies courage and inspiration. Great point by you. https://t.co/oM7j7paq3N
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 12, 2018
No, I reject calling racism a political issue. It’s right and wrong. I also don’t judge someone’s patriotism or love for country on ceremony. Plenty of people who stand for the anthem aren’t patriots. https://t.co/U00RjgSTqS
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) April 12, 2018
Judging by the fierce debate on Hill’s Twitter page, the national anthem protest issue is still an emotional and divisive one.
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