The NFL continues to be plagued by the anti-American anthem protests.
In addition to the ongoing threat of further unpatriotic demonstrations, two protesters are actively suing the league for colluding to keep them out.
But one protester’s collusion narrative just went up in smoke.
Colin Kaepernick ignited a powder keg when he chose to disrespect the American flag by protesting the national anthem.
Since that dark moment in sports history back in August 2016, other players have mimicked Kaepernick’s anti-American stance.
The players claim the protests aren’t an attack on America, but Kaepernick—who’s immersed himself in radical leftist politics—has explicitly said otherwise.
The combination of his divisive rhetoric and rapidly deteriorating quarterback skills has left Kaepernick jobless.
But that hasn’t stopped him from being a thorn in the NFL’s side.
Kaepernick filed a lawsuit against the NFL for colluding against him. Apparently, he can’t fathom why any team wouldn’t want a quarterback who’s locker-room napalm and posted a 3-16 record his last two seasons.
Kaepernick’s collusion case has thus far gone nowhere; a few teams made overtures to bring him in for workouts, but nothing materialized.
Kaepernick’s former San Francisco 49ers teammate and fellow protester Eric Reid also filed a grievance against the league because he, too, felt he was being blacklisted.
However, Reid—like Kaepernick—is his own worst enemy.
First Reid alienated teams by crowing about teams’ lack of interest in him merely two days into the start of free agency.
That type of entitlement mentality isn’t endearing to coaches and general managers looking to fill out their rosters, and Reid isn’t good enough to override those types of concerns.
Reid also rubbed prospective teams the wrong way when he retweeted an article praising Colin Kaepernick while downplaying the success of his then-teammate Jimmy Garoppolo, who had just set the league on fire by looking like an all-pro quarterback in a five-game winning streak to close out the season.
And for those who use the excuse Kaepernick had to learn a new offense in his last season with the 49ers, Garoppolo was traded mid-season and didn’t even get the benefit of training camp. There were times where he was simply winging it, yet his results were far better than Kaepernick’s.
That Reid would choose to ignore in order to pump up Kaepernick doesn’t inspire confidence in coaches looking for team guys; bad-mouthing the quarterback is never a good look.
Despite the missteps, Reid was still given an opportunity to make a roster.
The Tennessee Titans recently lost all-pro safety Jonathan Cyprien to an ACL tear and were in need of a starting-caliber replacement on short notice. The Titans’ first call was to Reid, but he didn’t make it to Tennessee due to multiple flight cancellations:
#Titans planned to bring in S Eric Reid, but multiple flight cancellations kept him from coming in. When interest picked up from others in Kenny Vaccaro, Tennessee felt they needed to move to keep from losing him. They had good talks with Reid & he remains an option down the road
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 4, 2018
It’s currently the dog days of summer, so it seems preposterous that inclement weather is to blame for Reid’s string of flight cancellations.
It seems hard to believe that a millionaire athlete couldn’t find a way to get to Tennessee in the middle of summer with a job on the line.
Teams are less inclined to give Reid the benefit of the doubt in light of his previous errors of judgment.
Some will say he and Kaepernick have decided to become martyrs for their left-wing cause.
Whether or not Reid made a good-faith effort to reach Titans headquarters, former New Orleans Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro found a way to get there, and he got the job.
Meanwhile, Reid continues to blame the league for keeping him out. Perhaps he can add the airlines to his grievance list.