While giving a speech in Louisville, Kentucky on Monday, President Donald Trump decided to talk about former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s NFL free agency because that’s what presidents do these days, talk about things that have absolutely nothing to do with politics.
Trump believes he’s the reason Kaepernick is still unemployed:
#POTUS #DonaldTrump said ” @NFL teams refusing to pick up .@Kaepernick7 b/c of #Trump .” #NFL @JohnLeguizamo @PRIMO1MX @kingsfanone #49ers pic.twitter.com/xyTEva194t
— Anthony (@hollywoodblvd1) March 21, 2017
Here’s the full quote from Trump on Kaepernick:
“And you know, your San Francisco quarterback — I’m sure nobody ever heard of him. I’m just reporting the news. There was an article today. I love to report the news and then they said I made a mistake. I said, ‘No, the people reporting the news made the mistake if it’s wrong.’ But, there was an article today that was reported that NFL owners don’t want to pick him up because they don’t want to get a nasty tweet from Donald Trump. You believe that? I just saw that. I said, ‘If I remember that one, I’m gonna report it to the people of Kentucky because they like it when people actually stand for the American flag.’ Right?”
The article Donald Trump is referencing stems from Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman, who spoke to an anonymous NFL exec and one AFC general manager and they brought up the potential Trump tweet:
“He can still play at a high level,” one AFC general manager said. “The problem is three things are happening with him.
“First, some teams genuinely believe that he can’t play. They think he’s shot. I’d put that number around 20 percent.
“Second, some teams fear the backlash from fans after getting him. They think there might be protests or [President Donald] Trump will tweet about the team. I’d say that number is around 10 percent. Then there’s another 10 percent that has a mix of those feelings.”
The AFC GM referred to just 10% of owners, not every team.
Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem prior to every game last season in protest of injustice in the United Sates. He already has stated that he would not take a knee for the 2017 season.
Kaepernick has “put his money where his mouth is” and has donated numerous times to different charities around the world.
More recently, Kaepernick donated $50,000 to Meals on Wheels, an organization that Trump has stated that he wants to defund:
As Colin Kaepernick waits for a job opportunity, he continues to donate to charity. His latest includes $50K for Meals on Wheels pic.twitter.com/j5ERyWpSz2
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 21, 2017
As Kaepernick continues to wait for a job, he will continue to do what he’s stated on numerous times and give back.
