"The Stack" 8-3-17
There isn’t much in the “the stack” today. In fact there is only one item and I was hesitant in even doing the blog today, but because it is news it needs to get talked about. This topic irks me. Before we get to that, lots of reaction to Neymar leaving for Paris Saint-Germain. The buyout is large and for Neymar to leave Barcelona for PSG is big news, but I really don’t have much more analysis than that. Let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Thursday, August 3rd:
Ravens owner hesitant to sign Kaepernick
I mentioned Monday that the Baltimore Ravens were looking at bringing in Colin Kaepernick with Joe Flacco sidelined with an injury as training camp is going on and that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said that the team was reaching out to sponsors and fans to gauge their reaction if they signed Kaepernick. He must be hearing from a lot of anti-Kaepernick fans, because ESPN reported Wednesday that head coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome support the signing of Kaepernick, but Bisciotti remains resistant to signing Kaepernick. He must think that it would hurt the bottomline and enrage fans. Nevermind the fact that Kaepernick had the 17th highest selling jersey last year and is 39th in merchandise sales in the last year.
On the football side, signing Kaepernick would make a lot of sense. The Ravens quarterback is Ryan Mallett. You have a lot of confidence in him? He hasn’t seized any opportunity yet when he has had the chance to prove that he can be counted on or that he is the guy. Kaepernick is a much better option. There is only one reason that he hasn’t been signed yet and that is the NFL is essentially blackballing him. The owners don’t want to anger their fans, but when they hear from fans, I don’t think it is just the team’s fans that are letting them know their feelings of Kaepernick. It’s the entire anti-Kaepernick movement. I get that people are offended by his “disrespect” for the national anthem, but it isn’t like he turned his back on the flag. He just took a knee. A lot of other players did it and they aren’t receiving the backlash that Kaepernick is except maybe Brandon Marshall the Denver Broncos linebacker. Because Kaepernick was the leader of this movement, he gets the ire of fans squarely placed on his shoulders. I wonder if these same people who are so upset with Kaepernick are also ticked at Kansas City Chiefs fans and North Dakota State Bison fans who during the national anthem will yell either “Chiefs” or “Bison” at the end of the anthem when we sing “And the home of the ____” instead of “brave”. I am willing to bet there are other places where this happens, but you don’t hear people sending mail to these respective teams/programs expressing their displeasure. That to me is way more disrespectful.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman perhaps put it best Wednesday when he said, “It’s not about football or color. It’s about, ‘Boy stay in your place.’” I thought we were past this as a country and it saddens me that we are not. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is lying to you when he is saying that teams aren’t signing Kaepernick because of his football ability. It’s the so called “distraction” that he brings and the general sense of negativity. Ask the San Francisco 49ers if he was a distraction during the regular season last year. They’ll tell you no. Kaepernick deserves to be signed. He’s not a bad dude. He isn’t a “thug”. At a time when guys with DUIs, domestic violence and drugs/substance abuse issues on their record routinely get second chances, a guy who didn’t do anything wrong in the eyes of the law can’t even get a sniff at a job in the NFL. Remember that the next time your favorite team signs someone with a troubled past. And to these people who are so against Kaepernick not standing for the national anthem, I hope they are doing more to help our veterans and armed forces members with their time and or money and not just standing for the national anthem. I don't mean to offend or pick a fight with people, but this is something that has gone on for far too long.
Before we go, the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys play in the Hall of Fame game tonight, 8 PM ET on NBC. The Cardinals won’t play their starters. The game is ahead of the Hall of Fame festivities on Saturday and not played on Sunday as it normally is. Will you watch? I won’t. Maybe flip by it and stop for a few minutes tops. Was it last year with the field debacle? I feel like it was and that caused the game to be cancelled. And happy birthday to Tom Brady. He turns 40 today and is playing the best football of his career arguably. Must be that diet. Wonder if he will splurge and have some cake tonight or just stick with avocado ice cream.
Coming up either Friday or next week: reaction to top stories and headlines in the sports world
