Former #1 draft pick and human highlight reel, Michael Vick, recently came under some scrutiny due to advice he provided former Super Bowl quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
During an interview with Jason Whitlock on Fox Sports's Speak for Yourself, Vick said:
"The first thing we've got to get Colin to do is cut his hair. Listen, I'm not up here trying to be politically correct. Even if he put cornrows in there, I don't think he should represent himself in that way, in terms of just the hairstyle. Just go clean-cut, you know, why not? You're already dealing with a lot, a lot of controversy surrounding this issue, and the most important thing he needs to do is just try to be presentable."
The former Pro Bowl quarterback added:
"The gesture he made last year he took the stand to do what he did, listen, we all appreciated it, we respected it, and it was a good thing. I really think the stand that he took has nothing to do with him not having a job playing in the National Football League right now. And being frank, Colin didn't have the best two years his last two seasons."
To his credit, following the backlash, Vick quickly apologized for the remark regarding Kaepernick's hair, saying:
"At the end of the day, what I said, I should have never said. I think it was taken out of context in regards to what I was trying to convey, but I only want to help Kaepernick. I'm not a general manager, I'm not the guy who makes the decisions on getting him signed and I'm truly sorry for what I said. I think I should have used a better choice of words. Obviously his Afro has nothing to do with him being signed, and I wasn't trying to relay that message. It was more so about helping him at the end of the day. In all my interviews, all I have ever tried to do is help him and talk positive."
What Vick got wrong was when he claimed Kaepernick's sideline antics from last season played no part in him being unsigned this season. No, Kaepernick hasn't been faring as well as had been hoped after he broke onto the scene in the 2012 season. He did snap his three year slide in quarterback rating last year, however, and his 3-16 record the past two years can't all fall on his shoulders. The San Francisco 49ers have been short on talent the past couple of seasons, and that may be the understatement of the day. Having said that, though, the main reason for Colin Kaepernick being unsigned at the moment is his kneeling during the National Anthem last year. The man threw 16 touchdown passes, compared to only 4 interceptions last year, and a 90.7 rating as a result. He also ran for 468 yards and a pair of additional touchdowns. Quarterbacks he had a better rating than last year include: Tyrod Taylor, Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, Jameis Winston, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, and Cam Newton, among others. Colin Kaepernick may not be an elite caliber quarterback at the moment, but he doesn't turn the ball over much, can still run, and the only legitimate explanation for him not being signed right now is the owners' fear of backlash due to his protests from last season.
Sadly, while Vick was way off in his claim that Colin Kaepernick's protests had nothing to do with him being unsigned right now, he may have had a point with regard to the importance of a player's presentability. Yes, it may be 2017, and no, a player's hairstyle, tattoos, or piercings shouldn't hold any relevance to a player's signability, but let's face it, most NFL owners are old white men who know as much about the Black Lives Matter movement as my dog knows about Sean Connery impersonators. Even though roughly 2/3 of the league's players are black, the majority of this league is often held to a different standard than whites. When the educated and stand-up Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman excitedly spoke out about his game-saving play on San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree in the NFC title game a few years back, what label was he greeted with by many Anglos in this country? "Thug." Yet when white players utter such things, I rarely hear the same kind of reaction. Unfortunately, I witness this double-standard among my white brothers and sisters far too often. If a black NFL player's arms are loaded with tattoos, I'll hear, "He's so ghetto" or "What a thug!" When they see a white player's arms decked out with a similar quantity of tattoos, I hear little to no reaction. What Michael Vick said with regard to Colin Kaepernick's hair and level of presentability is both sad and worrying, because even in the year 2017, it often rings true. Like everyone else, Colin Kaepernick should have the right to express his beliefs via the First Amendment in the Constitution, shouldn't be scorned due to his hairstyle or overall appearance, and the fact he's still waiting for a team to sign him just shows, in 2017, how far we have to go when it comes to equality in the so-called "freest" country on earth.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/07/17/michael-vick-thinks-colin-kaepernick-should-cut-his-hair-and-be-presentable/?utm_term=.047ccbd93c43
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/07/20/michael-vick-colin-kaepernick-hair-apology
http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/quarterbackRating
During an interview with Jason Whitlock on Fox Sports's Speak for Yourself, Vick said:
"The first thing we've got to get Colin to do is cut his hair. Listen, I'm not up here trying to be politically correct. Even if he put cornrows in there, I don't think he should represent himself in that way, in terms of just the hairstyle. Just go clean-cut, you know, why not? You're already dealing with a lot, a lot of controversy surrounding this issue, and the most important thing he needs to do is just try to be presentable."
The former Pro Bowl quarterback added:
"The gesture he made last year he took the stand to do what he did, listen, we all appreciated it, we respected it, and it was a good thing. I really think the stand that he took has nothing to do with him not having a job playing in the National Football League right now. And being frank, Colin didn't have the best two years his last two seasons."
To his credit, following the backlash, Vick quickly apologized for the remark regarding Kaepernick's hair, saying:
"At the end of the day, what I said, I should have never said. I think it was taken out of context in regards to what I was trying to convey, but I only want to help Kaepernick. I'm not a general manager, I'm not the guy who makes the decisions on getting him signed and I'm truly sorry for what I said. I think I should have used a better choice of words. Obviously his Afro has nothing to do with him being signed, and I wasn't trying to relay that message. It was more so about helping him at the end of the day. In all my interviews, all I have ever tried to do is help him and talk positive."
What Vick got wrong was when he claimed Kaepernick's sideline antics from last season played no part in him being unsigned this season. No, Kaepernick hasn't been faring as well as had been hoped after he broke onto the scene in the 2012 season. He did snap his three year slide in quarterback rating last year, however, and his 3-16 record the past two years can't all fall on his shoulders. The San Francisco 49ers have been short on talent the past couple of seasons, and that may be the understatement of the day. Having said that, though, the main reason for Colin Kaepernick being unsigned at the moment is his kneeling during the National Anthem last year. The man threw 16 touchdown passes, compared to only 4 interceptions last year, and a 90.7 rating as a result. He also ran for 468 yards and a pair of additional touchdowns. Quarterbacks he had a better rating than last year include: Tyrod Taylor, Philip Rivers, Carson Palmer, Jameis Winston, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, and Cam Newton, among others. Colin Kaepernick may not be an elite caliber quarterback at the moment, but he doesn't turn the ball over much, can still run, and the only legitimate explanation for him not being signed right now is the owners' fear of backlash due to his protests from last season.
Sadly, while Vick was way off in his claim that Colin Kaepernick's protests had nothing to do with him being unsigned right now, he may have had a point with regard to the importance of a player's presentability. Yes, it may be 2017, and no, a player's hairstyle, tattoos, or piercings shouldn't hold any relevance to a player's signability, but let's face it, most NFL owners are old white men who know as much about the Black Lives Matter movement as my dog knows about Sean Connery impersonators. Even though roughly 2/3 of the league's players are black, the majority of this league is often held to a different standard than whites. When the educated and stand-up Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman excitedly spoke out about his game-saving play on San Francisco 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree in the NFC title game a few years back, what label was he greeted with by many Anglos in this country? "Thug." Yet when white players utter such things, I rarely hear the same kind of reaction. Unfortunately, I witness this double-standard among my white brothers and sisters far too often. If a black NFL player's arms are loaded with tattoos, I'll hear, "He's so ghetto" or "What a thug!" When they see a white player's arms decked out with a similar quantity of tattoos, I hear little to no reaction. What Michael Vick said with regard to Colin Kaepernick's hair and level of presentability is both sad and worrying, because even in the year 2017, it often rings true. Like everyone else, Colin Kaepernick should have the right to express his beliefs via the First Amendment in the Constitution, shouldn't be scorned due to his hairstyle or overall appearance, and the fact he's still waiting for a team to sign him just shows, in 2017, how far we have to go when it comes to equality in the so-called "freest" country on earth.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/07/17/michael-vick-thinks-colin-kaepernick-should-cut-his-hair-and-be-presentable/?utm_term=.047ccbd93c43
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/07/20/michael-vick-colin-kaepernick-hair-apology
http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/passing/sort/quarterbackRating
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