WS Chronicle

I have loved the game of football since I was a child.  I can vividly remember my Washington Redskins winning Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos 42-10 and my love for the game has grown since then.  Unfortunately, amid recent events my affinity for the NFL has begun to wane in recent years.

My annoyance with the NFL started with the fact that Colin Kaepernick was kept out of the NFL for an entire season for his kneeling during the national anthem.  I was most upset at the fact the armed services pay the NFL to have their players stand on the sidelines during the anthem, but Kaepernick gets condemned for kneeling in protest to unfair treatment of minorities in America by those who are paid to serve and protect.

My main issue was that for the vast majority of the history of the NFL, players remained in the locker room until the anthem was played.  It’s not like the NFL was doing this to be patriotic; they were doing it to make a dollar, so I saw no issue in Kaepernick making a stance during what is essentially a paid demonstration.

Many people skewed the protest as a one that was against the anthem or the NFL, which is wasn’t.  Still to this day Kaepernick does not have a job in the NFL.  The thing that pushed me over the edge was Kaepernick not having a job and then I hear that NFL bust Johnny Manziel is getting another look from the NFL.

Wow, really NFL, you mean to tell me that a player that was one catch away from having a Super Bowl championship on his mantle can’t get a job but a player that is 2-6 as a starter with a career total of seven touchdowns and seven interceptions gets consideration.

On top of Manziel’s lackluster stats he has had a few off-the-field issues involving law enforcement.  In June 2012 he was charged with carrying fake identification in College Station, Texas; in November 2014 he was involved in a fight with an overzealous fan and multiple issues of domestic violence involving his former girlfriend.

These are just a few of the issues that Manziel has been involved with over the years, and that is not even the half of it.  To me he should not be looked upon as a possible NFL quarterback before Kaepernick.

There is no way anyone can tell me that Kaepernick is not deserving of at least a backup quarterback position in the league right now.  He can’t even get a look from any team but on the other hand Manziel had over half the league come out to watch his workout recently.

I am just baffled at this entire course of events, honestly.  Some are claiming that bringing Kaepernick on to an NFL team would possibly hurt their bottom line.  To use that as an excuse is pretty lame to me.  NFL fans have accepted drug abusers, alcoholics, drunk drivers, adulterers and even a player who killed someone in a traffic accident.

It is an absolute certainty that most fans of any particular team would still be a fan if they were to acquire Kaepernick.  The same could be said for Manziel as well, so to use the bottom line as an excuse is not really that relevant in either case.

The fact that we are in the year 2018 and still dealing with these types of issues in a major sport is appalling.  I would love to try and find a general manager of any NFL team that will tell me that Johnny Manziel is a better quarterback than Kaepernick.  If Manziel gets a job before Kaepernick, it will not be a good look for the NFL.

By no means am I bashing Manziel, because I wish the best for the young man, but I just have an issue with the NFL not being consistent with its actions.