ESPN Features Spike Lee’s Pro-Kaepernick Rant on Front Page

How does someone who knows nothing about football get their Instagram football rant published on ESPN’s front page? Well, simple, make it a pro-Kaepernick Instagram football rant.

On Sunday, Spike Lee had brunch in Manhattan with Colin Kaepernick, something which all hardcore revolutionaries do. After their meeting, Lee took to Instagram and posted this:

Just Had Brunch With My Brother Colin @Kaepernick7 . How Is It That There Are 32 NFL Teams And Kap Is Still A Free Agent? WTF. Smells MAD Fishy To Me,Stinks To The High Heavens. The New York J-E-T-S Need A Quarterback. Who Is The J-E-T-S Quarterback? Is My Man Joe Willie Namath Coming Back? Crazy Times We Live In. The Question Remains What Owner And GM Is Going To Step Up And Sign Colin So Their Team Has A Better Chance To WIN? What Crime Has Colin Committed? Look At The QB’s Of All 32 Teams. This Is Some Straight Up Shenanigans,Subterfuge, Skullduggery And BS. Ya-Dig? Sho-Nuff. By Any Means Necessary. And Dat’s Da NoFunLeague Truth,Ruth.

A post shared by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on Mar 19, 2017 at 2:10pm PDT

Twitter reaction from the non-PC dominated sports media flowed in quickly. All two of them:

Rich Cimini of ESPN weighed-in, in part by citing the Jets quarterback needs, referencing Colin Kaepernick’s past achievements, and pointing out that the Jets owner is a Republican:

It’s no secret the Jets are looking for a veteran quarterback. They spent the weekend wining and dining journeyman Josh McCown, 37, who left Sunday without a contract. The two sides will continue to talk. The Jets also remain interested in Jay Cutler and perhaps others in what is considered a weak free-agent QB class.

From all indications, the Jets have no desire to sign Kaepernick, despite the fact that he is only 29 and has four postseason wins on his résumé.

Jets owner Woody Johnson is a prominent GOP supporter who raised millions for Donald Trump; last fall, during the presidential campaign, Johnson blamed Kaepernick for being one of the main reasons for the NFL’s declining TV ratings.”

Jason Whitlock’s point about Spike Lee not knowing anything about football cannot be stressed enough. Kaepernick has won only eleven games as a starter in the last three years. This, after Kaepernick notched seventeen wins in his first two years of actual play. Not only that, Kaepernick has never thrown for more than 3,369 yards in any season.

To put in perspective just how awful that stat is, Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott, two rookie quarterbacks, both went well over the 3,369 yard mark in their first seasons in the league. Cam Newton, who had one of the worst follow-up seasons to an MVP award in NFL history, threw for over 3,500 yards this year. Even Alex Smith, the aging and declining quarterback whom Kaepernick replaced in San Francisco, threw for more yards this year than Kaepernick ever has.

These numbers clearly illustrate that Kaepernick has regressed over the last three years. So, the idea that signing him represents some kind of “no-brainer” decision for NFL executives, and that Kaepernick’s current status as unemployed should be considered “MAD Fishy,” is in and of itself “MAD Fishy.” It makes ESPN’s choice to feature Lee’s Instagram post on their front page, well, ridiculous.

The fact remains, that Kaepernick exercised his 1^st Amendment right to speak out. Up until this point, NFL executives have exercised their right to not hire him. However, even though Kaepernick has regressed, he will eventually get signed by someone, even if it only amounts to a last minute incentive-laden deal.

Also of note, Tim Tebow is 29 years old. And, unlike Kaepernick, actually has a winning record in the NFL. Yet, has no contract with an NFL team. But, there’s nothing “MAD Fishy” about that.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn