Colin Kaepernick has found his way back into the news after making a failed attempt at joining the New York Jets organization. Kaepernick, following the Jets’ refusal to sign him to the practice squad, now has landed himself on the cover of Men’s Health Magazine.
Many front-office personnel and fans of the NFL have recently questioned the seriousness of Kaepernick’s most recent attempt to rejoin the league, and now some are wondering if it may have just been a publicity stunt to get his name back into the public mind and parlay that popularity into more money and fame.
The cover of the magazine was shared by TMZ on X, featuring a picture of Kaepernick shirtless holding a football. Next to him, bright yellow text reads, “The 35 Strongest Men of the Past 35 Years.”
Colin Kaepernick Lands Cover of Men's Health Magazine, Lookin' Ripped! https://t.co/UX2mpBQCkE
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 3, 2023
Men’s Health writer Mitchell Jackson wrote a piece on the website about the love and admiration that he has for Kaepernick. The letter begins with a thank you to the former 49ers quarterback who estranged himself from the NFL by using gameday as an opportunity to push his radical social justice platform and to kneel for America’s National Anthem.
While most of the article is simply slamming white owners of NFL teams and claiming that Kaepernick is something more than just a victim of his own actions, the letter ends in an interesting and thought-provoking manner.
Jackson wrote, “Still, I have no doubt you’ll press on however you can for however long you can. And though you owe me nothing—absolutely, positively, unequivocally nothing—I do wonder, dear brother, at this stage, does it all feel worth it?”
This question has floated around the minds of plenty of NFL fans, including myself, ever since Kaepernick ostracized himself from NFL locker rooms. It seems on the surface that he is at peace with the decision, though in his most recent attempt to get a spot in the league, he has been awfully quiet about his woke proclivities and leanings.
In his letter to the New York Jets, in which he asked for a place on the team’s practice squad so that he may earn his way back into the NFL, Kaepernick made no mention of the social justice movements that saw him ostracized years ago.
In part, he wrote, “As a final point, I would like to add this. Unlike many of the veteran QB’s that have been named in the media, I’ve never retired or stopped training. My training schedule has remained the same for 6 years; Monday through Friday, 5am-8am training on the field and in the weight room. I’ve kept this training schedule without failure for the past 6 years, in hopes that an opportunity will present itself. I say this to give you some perspective on where I’m at physically.”
Whether the NFL is going to see Kaepernick in the league ever again is yet to be seen, but if that letter is any indication, he may not be so bullish on the woke messages that he so proudly peddled in the past.
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