Written by Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk.com
When it comes to politics, my three primary issues are these: (1) I don’t want to tell anyone else how to live their life; (2) I don’t want anyone to tell me how to live my life; and (3) I don’t like being lied to.
When it comes to Colin Kaepernick’s ongoing unemployment, I feel like I’m constantly being lied to.
The evidence continues to mount of an effort by NFL teams to push false narratives about Kaepernick. And they’re working.
In March, as the lack of interest in Kaepernick became more glaring, someone told Dan Graziano of ESPN.com that Kaepernick wants both a salary in the range of $9 million to $10 million per year and a chance to compete for a starting job. The truth was, and still is, that no one knows what Kaepernick wants, because the conversation has never progressed to the point where anyone has asked Kaepernick or his agents what he wants.
The truth doesn’t matter, because nearly two months later the perception lingers that Kaepernick wants both a salary in the range of $9 million to $10 million per year and a chance to compete for a starting job.
Then there were the concerns about Kaepernick’s diet, which were articulated even as folks were marveling at Tom Brady’s avocado ice cream obsession, with no fear that he may be missing out on the protein and nutrients necessary to thrive on a football field by not scarfing down steaks and burgers and ribs and other assorted man meats.
More recently, Peter King of TheMMQB.com cited unnamed 49ers sources who believe that Kaepernick “might actually rather do social justice work full-time than play quarterback.” That notion was quickly shot down, but in post-truth America, facts don’t matter. What matters is equipping those who see the world a certain way with something tangible to which they can point to support those views, regardless of whether it’s accurate.
As some in the media continue to express confusion and dismay at the notion that quarterbacks with far inferior track records and accomplishments (most recently, the player who was benched for Kaepernick last season got a job), the target keeps moving. Others in the media are legitimizing the bull’s-eye shi(f)t.
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