Colin Kaepernick under the radar, but flying high with a boost from NFL
Written by Scott Ostler
On Sunday — while the NFL games were in progress, including the Raiders’ win over Detroit at the Coliseum — Kaepernick strolled through a homeless tent city in Oakland. He handed out backpacks filled with snacks and personal supplies. He brought in a food truck.
By the way, Sunday was Kaepernick’s 32nd birthday. A Scorpio. I looked it up: passionate, independent, and unafraid to blaze their own trails no matter what others think.
Kaepernick’s visit to Oakland got zero media attention. Once again, he forgot to alert the TV and newspaper people to a great photo op. Blew a chance to grow his brand. TMZ got and posted some amateur video of Kaepernick hanging with the people. Other than that, he flew way under the radar.
He does not media-ize his Know Your Rights camps for inner-city kids, nor his contributions to numerous grass-roots organizations. This is very confusing to the haters who say Kaepernick’s kneel-down protests were all about calling attention to himself.
Even if — perish the thought! — Kaepernick were to get another job in the NFL, he would continue his charity stuff and social work. But thanks to the NFL, the onetime hero to 49ers fans has become a folk hero to the folk who... [READ MORE...]
