Friday, ESPN “First Take” host Stephen A. Smith reacted to Denver Broncos General Manager John Elway’s comments with reporters where he shared he offered activist Colin Kaepernick a quarterback job but was turned down.
“Colin had his chance to be here. We offered him a contract. He didn’t take it,” Elway said Thursday.
According to Smith, Elway “came across as smug as they possibly come” while speaking with reporters.
“[H]is body language, his demeanor, and to a lesser degree, some of his words were rife with indignation towards Colin Kaepernick,” Smith stated. “Clearly, it has to be because of the collusion case that Colin Kaepernick has filed against the National Football League.”
He added, “I thought John Elway came across as incredibly smug and dismissive of Colin Kaepernick as somebody who should be grateful receiving anything he received in This NFL career when he clearly earned it. And for it to come out of the mouth of John Elway, a Hall of Fame quarterback … undisputedly one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve ever seen in NFL history, not to mention an elite executive in this game and a Super Bowl champion as an executive, as well, it was incredibly disappointing to hear those words and just his overall position, just the ambiance, just the way he came across. To see that coming from John Elway, I was incredibly disappointed to see that way. It had me thinking about collusion and the whole National Anthem protest and all of that stuff instead of Colin Kaepernick the football player who thought that he was good enough to not accept a 42 percent reduction in salary that John Elway had offered him.”
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