As I'm sure you heard, ex-49ers' quarterback, and notable social activist Colin Kaepernick this past offseason became a free agent, and for what likely is a variety of reasons, he is still unsigned. Some of it politics, some of it is a talent issue, some of it is likely a race issue, and a lot of it doesn't make logical sense.

To put it in perspective, the New York Jets, them of the never-ending quarterback problem, and with the team president that works directly with Donald Trump, a vocal critic of Kaepernick, signed Josh McCown to a 1 year, 6 million dollar deal. To those who aren't familiar with football, McCown is 37, as recently as 2012 was out of the league, was the quarterback of one of the worst offenses in NFL history, and the worst team in football, as recently as 2014, went winless as a starter last year, has a career record of 18-42 as a starter, and also did this:

In addition, over the last few weeks, the Seattle Seahawks brought him in for a workout, and apparently had serious interest. From any perspective, whether it be in regards to a need at backup quarterback, the fact that his skillset fits what the Seahawks value in their QB's, or the fact that the Seahawks supported his protests, it was a clear fit. Of course, they ended up signing Austin Davis, someone who has been thoroughly unimpressive in every stop he's been in prior, over him. It was this decision that has led to calls of collusion against the NFL, a case that has been examined, but he probably doesn't have. So Kaepernick remains out there.

Putting the political and social stuff aside, let's examine Colin Kaepernick. While he was certainly not GOOD by any stretch of the imagination last year, he certainly is deserving of another chance, as Doug Farrar, among many, examined.

The issue with Kaepernick in regards to playing style is that he doesn't resemble the typical starting quarterback in the NFL: the traditional pocket passer who can read a defense, lead a team, and make all the throws. In other words:

To be honest, all of that is true to a certain extent. Colin Kaepernick will not be your Tom Brady, your Peyton Manning, the guy you can rely on to lead you to the Super Bowl. He isn't built like the traditional quarterback, but that doesn't mean he isn't effective. To say that he "isn't a prototypical passer" is a criticism that means absolutely nothing in regards to his ability to play, but is rather another way of discriminating against him. It's something that other black quarterbacks like Cam Newton have had to deal with, among things. Kaepernick by QB rating was the 16th best quarterback in football last year, with 16 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions, which is 17 less than "franchise quarterback" Philip Rivers of the LA Chargers (not to hate on Rivers, a great quarterback, or his armada of kids).

Now, these are pretty basic statistics, but even if "the tape" is that bad, just going off of that, his ability to run, and the fact that he almost led to 49ers to a Super Bowl victory in the last 5 years, one would assume he's worth a flyer.

The real issue here is one of personality, and one of optics. Unless you were under a rock for the last year or so, I'm sure you heard about Kaepernick's protests. I'm not here to call people who are against it idiots, although I do support his cause. What I have a problem with is how players like Ray Lewis, Greg Hardy, Joe Mixon, Dorial Green Beckham, and Aldon Smith- among offenders- are good enough people and good enough players, and more importantly good enough humans, to root for on Sundays, and a guy who at last check, was at least an average player (better than some of those aforementioned names), and has a history of success, isn't. NFL personal evaluators are ok with employing alleged murderers, rapists, and other types of felons, but aren't ok with someone taking a knee for a cause he believes in. For those who are talking about Kaepernick in the context of America, our constitution literally directly supports what he is doing.

The NFL is a sport with a serious image problem. The various events of the last few years- from Bountygate, domestic violence and drug use among players, to Deflategate- have seriously damaged the NFL's image, and TV ratings have shown it. The concussion issue is one that is real, and I highly recommend you find a way to watch Sean Pamphilon's documentary examining it:

Yet, in my opinion, for all the concussion issues and PR issues and the fact that this South Park parody isn't that far off from a video of a Roger Goodell press conference:

The real problem with the NFL is it's culture. A culture that won't permit free expression of hardly any capacity, one that just recently allowed celebrations after touchdowns, and one that turned the story of Michael Sam, a decorated college player at the University of Missouri and the first openly gay NFL player, getting picked, leading to this video:

Into one that reeks of sadness and inability to budge from being culturally stubborn, to the point that Sam says he firmly believes being gay led to him not having a career. When you look at Michael Sam the football player, he might have a point. Whatever you think of homosexuals (although if you disagree at this point, you're fighting a losing battle), I'm sure if it is one thing Americans can unanimously agree on, it is that hard-working individuals who have spent years of their life, working their ass off to get a shot in their profession, only to have it taken away by the NFL and it's owners being at best ignorant and at worst intolerant, is despicable.

To clarify, I don't think the NFL is going away anytime soon. It is still, at least at this point, too big to fail, and even if it isn't THE sport to watch anymore, I doubt it gets to the point to where it isn't profitable. Yet, if one thing is going to bring it down, it isn't the concussions, the commissioner, the style of play, and it definitely isn't deflated footballs, it's the culture. The times are always changing, and if the NFL and it's decision makers don't learn that, then maybe, someday, eventually people will find other uses for their Sunday, rather than watch a product putting money in the pockets of bigots.