Fans and sympathizers of out-of-job NFL player Colin Kaepernick have taken to social media to call out the league’s supposed hypocrisy following the news of Tim Tebow’s potential return to the game after a nine-year hiatus.
Tebow played as a quarterback for teams including the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles before deciding to pursue a career in baseball. According to Fox Sports, the 33-year-old is nearing a return to the league with a one-year contract offer from the Jacksonville Jaguars on the table. He’ll reportedly play tight end though he has never been fielded in that position before.
Responding to the news of Tebow’s return, some people questioned why he had been given a second chance while Kaepernick, 33, is still being blackballed by the league. As Face2Face Africa reported, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has been out of a job since 2017 after he started kneeling during the national anthem before games to raise awareness about police brutality against Blacks and other racial injustices.
Kaepernick’s defiant kneeling protests became a huge topic of discussion at the time. A host of right-wing Americans – including former president Trump – labeled his actions as disrespectful and unpatriotic and demanded disciplinary action to be taken against him. Kaepernick has since been unemployed after he parted ways with the 49ers in 2017.
Although some people have registered their displeasure over the Tim Tebow news, others have said his situation and that of Kaepernick’s are completely different – despite admitting the latter isn’t being treated fairly, Fox Sports reported.
“Tim Tebow’s situation is clearly one where he has a relationship with Urban Meyer [Jaguars head coach], that is why he is getting an opportunity,” Chris Canty, a retired NFL player, said.
“I don’t think we can start casting Tim Tebow in the same bucket with Colin Kaepernick in terms of those situations being the same, they’re not. Kap [Kaepernick] is not in the league because the NFL thought he was bad for business. He was polarising in his method.
“They were wrong then and you could say continue to be wrong in not giving him an opportunity to be a part of the NFL when he is clearly one of the 64 best quarterbacks in the world. I think Colin Kaepernick is more of a value [than Tebow] to an NFL team.”
Take a look at the reactions from social media users who called out the NFL below:
