While opining on the unemployed status of Colin Kaepernick, Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy may have just made himself a marked man. McCoy says that Kaepernick may not have been sidelined so much because of his national anthem protests, but because he isn’t a good enough player.
McCoy was asked about Kaepernick’s continued unemployment, but the player said he thinks the situation is more complicated than the claim that Kaepernick is simply being blackballed, WKBW’s Joe Buscaglia reported.
“That may have something to do with, but I think it also has a lot to do with his play. I’m sure a lot of teams wouldn’t want him as their starting quarterback. Then it’s the chaos that comes with it. It’s a lot. A team’s trying to win and not have a distraction on a team,” McCoy said of the anthem protests.
McCoy went on to point out that a player’s level of play is also a major factor in whether or not a team will accept the “distractions” he might bring to the locker room.
“I just think as a player, there’s certain players that can be on a team with big distractions, and other players, they’re not good enough … that it’s worth it,” McCoy said. “I think his situation is, not good enough to have on a team with all the attention that comes along with it. I’m sure if a guy like [Tom] Brady or a guy like — whoever is your favorite player, Odell Beckham or a guy like that — you’ll deal with that attention and play him.”
Perhaps hinting that Kaepernick just isn’t worth the trouble, McCoy added, “With certain guys, it’s not worth it.”
The five-time Pro Bowler also seems to think that using the national anthem as a platform to push political beliefs is not necessarily a good idea.
“I think the whole Kaepernick situation, in this country you can believe what you want, freedom of speech,” he said. “I think maybe they could choose a better platform to state their beliefs.”
McCoy also showed a bit of disdain for many who have offered their opinions on Kaepernick’s status, saying, “One thing I’ve learned about this here in America is that people, they’re followers. There’s some people that if you ask about these different topics, they’ll say what they heard, not what they actually know.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.