Count San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Kendrick Bourne among those who support an NFL team signing quarterback Colin Kaepernick. A lot has changed since Kaepernick, who last played an NFL snap during the 2016 season with the 49ers, initiated a movement to create awareness of social injustice while peacefully protesting by kneeling during the national anthem.
Kaepernick's former teammate, running back Carlos Hyde, recently shared that he believes an NFL team finally signing the quarterback would go a long way toward showing that the league recognizes its past mistakes and is committed to supporting its players.
Many believe that the controversy surrounding Kaepernick led to the quarterback being blackballed by the NFL.
"I think the NFL can start by signing Kap back," Hyde, who recently signed with the division-rival Seahawks, told Seattle-based reporters this week. "I think if they sign Kap back, that'll show that they're really trying to move in a different direction, because Kap was making a statement four years ago about what's going on in today's world, and the NFL didn't bother to listen to him then. So I think they should start by doing that."
Bourne expressed on Tuesday night that he fully supports the idea.
Forsure!! let's go @NFL make this happen 😤😤😤🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾 https://t.co/Gy9P0PPxK0
— Kendrick Bourne Poly (@BournePoly11) June 10, 2020
The NFL has recently changed its tune after the recent events that have the entire nation taking a hard look at itself. Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke out last week after several players pressured the league to do so, and admitted that the NFL was wrong for not listening to its players in the past and has pledged to do so in the future.
"We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier, and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest," Goodell said in a short video statement. "We, the National Football League, believe Black lives matter. I personally protest with you and want to be part of the much-needed change in this country."
Many who viewed Kaepernick's protests as a move to disrespect the flag or the military have started to realize that was never what the decision to kneel was about. So would an NFL team be willing to sign the once seemingly controversial figure? It sounds like more and more individuals across the NFL, including Bourne, are hoping that's the case.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about Kaepernick last week. The team opted not to re-sign the quarterback in Shanahan's first offseason with San Francisco. The coach has explained in the past, though, that the decision was based on offensive fit rather than any controversy that accompanied Kaepernick.
"I think the biggest thing that is so hard with the Colin thing is people misunderstanding what he was doing," Shanahan told reporters last week. "I think that's why the reactions have been hard the last couple of days over things, that people are still confused. Regardless of whether you agree with how he did it or not, that doesn't matter. What Colin was protesting was something that should be respected by all humans. That did take a lot of courage. It is something that is 1,000-percent wrong, and what he was trying to fix and bring light to.
"And, it was hard to bring light to the whole country because people didn't want to totally hear it, and it got diluted with so much different stuff. ... It's three years later, and they're still some people not understanding what his message was. And, regardless, that's too many people not understanding the message that everyone's been giving for a long time. And Colin did it the strongest out of anyone, and people should respect him a ton for that and admire that."