NFL Owner Says He'd Welcome Colin Kaepernick to His Team
One NFL owner is showing his support for Colin Kaepernick and his return to the NFL. In an interview with NBC Sports for an upcoming episode of Race in America: A Candid Conversation, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis revealed that if it was up to him, he would welcome Kaepernick to the team. Kaepernick, who previously played quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has been out of the league since the end of the 2016 season.
"I believe in Colin Kaepernick," he said, per PEOPLE. "He deserves every chance in the world to become a quarterback in the National Football League. I still stand by it. If our coaches and general manager want to bring him in or want him to be the quarterback on this team, I would welcome him with open arms."
Despite Davis being the owner of the Raiders, he doesn't make roster decisions as that responsibility belongs to general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels who have not publicly shown interest in Kaepernick, who began kneeling during the national anthem during the 2016 season to protest police brutality and racial injustice. This offseason, Kaepernick has been training all over the country to get a chance to sign with an NFL team.
"I think Colin is a very misunderstood human being," Davis continued. "I've gotten a chance to talk to him. I never really knew Colin, and I didn't understand him. I didn't understand the kneeling, what that meant initially. Over time, I have learned a little bit more about it. I understand [now] where he was coming from. He's got a message for society as a whole."
As for Kaepernick, he revealed what he's willing to do to get back in the NFL. "I know I have to find my way back in. So if I have to come in as a backup, that's fine," Kaepernick said, on the I AM ATHLETE SHOW. "But that's not where I'm staying. And when I prove that I'm a starter, I want to be able to step on the field as such. I just need that opportunity to walk through the door." Kaepernick played for the 49ers from 2011 to 2016 and led the team to a Super Bowl appearance in 2012.