NFL test training after three years: Does Kaepernick really get a fair chance?

... 986, 987, 988, 989: The Twitter account "KapWatch" counts the days since March 1, 2017, the day on which NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick dissolved his contract with the San Francisco 49ers. Nearly a thousand days in which Kaepernick failed to find a new team in which he was abused by US President Donald Trump and took legal action against the League for systematically marginalizing him for his activism against structural racism in the US.

At the beginning of this week, the NFL Kaepernick suddenly shook hands. He should get the chance to recommend himself to teams during a workout in Atlanta. For this Saturday, a kind of sighting was scheduled, in which Kaepernick in front of scouts of at least 24 teams to present his fitness and quality and should be available to answer questions. Then 990 days after his last working day as an NFL professional.

I'm just getting word out of my hands at the NFL league office in Atlanta on Saturday. I've been in shape and ready for this for 3 years, can not wait to see the head coaches and GMs on Saturday.

The workout, however, raises questions. Kaepernick is a former Super Bowl quarterback, according to The Ringer platform, only 16 players in his position in the NFL's history scored more yards per turn: ten of them are current NFL starters, four have already entered the Hall of Fame made it. And the two now retired Peyton Manning and Tony Romo are very likely to soon be able to enter the glory halls of their sport. Quarterback number 17 on this list is now to complete a sighting training, as otherwise rather unknown college players do before the draft.

Unusual termination

In addition, Kaepernick was only informed about the workout on Tuesday, just four days earlier. The NFL gave Kaepernick, according to US media reports, just two hours to think time to cancel or cancel. Workouts for non-player players, so-called free agents, usually take place during the week. On Saturday, the teams prepare for Sunday's match day, while the scouts are busy looking at college games.

The Kaepernick camp should have asked the league if the workout can not be postponed to at least a few days to an appointment a week, to give teams a longer planning time and to avoid the game day out of the way. The answer of the NFL: no.

It's easy to imagine that the relationship between the world's largest American football league and its erstwhile superstar is complicated. The origin of the conflict is the year 2016, in which Kaepernick began to kneel during the national anthem. He wanted to draw attention to the growing emergence of police violence against black people in the United States. For the proudest among the American NFL fans Kaepernicks gesture was an affront. The quarterback was suddenly no longer measured by his actions during a match, but in front of them. Kaepernick received death threats, right-wing politicians beat him verbally.

The climax was Trump: After several NFL players joined Kaepernick's protest, he tweeted, "Would you not love someone who despises our flag and the owner says, 'Take the son of a bitch off the field, he's fired, he's fired.' . "" Kaepernick has finally become the flagship of a movement against racism and discrimination in the United States.

Agreement in court

Kaepernick's lawsuit against the league caused a stir, as did the out-of-court settlement reached in February 2019, with no details publicized. Nine months later now the workout.

Kaepernick's former team-mate Eric Reid is skeptical. "I will not believe it until I see it," he said. "It feels like a PR stunt." The safety also played in the 49ers and was the first player to protest during the anthem with Kaepernick. And Reid, too, had problems finding a new team after his time in San Francisco, but lost to the Carolina Panthers last season. At his presentation, he wore a T-shirt with the inscription "I'm with Kap", based on Kaepernick's nickname.

Sanchez / AP

Eric Reid was the first player to follow Kaepernick's example and kneel at the anthem

Above all, Reid criticized the time. That the workout is already taking place this Saturday is "insidious," he said. Also Kaepernick was apparently not sure what to do from the short term appointment. "We can not say that," said the NFL to have answered a question from Kaepernicks team if one or more teams had asked for the workout, reported the TV channel ESPN.

Workout gets maximum attention

Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins. The list of teams that signed up for the Kaepernick workout according to the NFL is long. And a few really need it in their position, especially with the Broncos, Dolphins, Buccaneers and Redskins would be a commitment of Kaepernick conceivable.

This Saturday will probably be Kaepernick's last chance to return to the NFL. For the league, the workout has already paid off: Due to the unusual scheduling, the league this Saturday has the maximum attention to get one of their biggest interjectors back on the boat.

It only seems safe that Kaepernick will not stop his engagement, even though the "KapWatch" may not be ticking soon.