Colin Kaepernick Reiterates NFL Combine Comparison to Slave Trade
The former NFL player drew parallels between the combine's examination of athletes and the historical slave trade in a recent interview.
Colin Kaepernick has once again drawn a comparison between the NFL Scouting Combine and the historical slave trade, stating they are part of the "same process." The remarks were made during a conversation with former ESPN commentator Ryan Clark on his "Pivot" podcast.
Kaepernick, who has not played in the NFL since January 2017, first articulated this comparison in the 2021 Netflix series "Colin in Black & White." In the series, he narrates that teams "poke, prod and examine you, searching for any defect that might affect your performance. No boundary respected. No dignity left intact," while depicting the combine as a slave auction.
During the recent podcast interview, Clark asked Kaepernick about the origin of this realization. Kaepernick responded that the process, where athletes are asked to "Strip down to your drawers," feels like a "meat market."
He acknowledged that the NFL provides millions of dollars in compensation to players but maintained that the "process and intentions behind the process are the same" as slavery. Kaepernick added that in 2011, when he entered the league, he lacked the "historical perspective at the time" to fully grasp this parallel.
Kaepernick continues to maintain he is ready to return to the NFL, training daily as if he were still a starting quarterback. He has previously suggested his stalled NFL career was a "political" move by the organization.