Colin Kaepernick Compares the NFL Draft to Slavery In New Netflix Series
Avid sports fans and civil rights activists alike pressed play on the first episode of the newly released limited series Colin in Black and White and were met with a scene that would soon make headlines Nationwide.
The first episode, titled “Cornrows,” begins with a close-up of Colin Kaepernick’s face as he states, “Everybody knows the first step in making any football team is the tryout.” Scenes proceed of the players darting across the field in front of cliques of white men—most often positions reserved for coaches, scouts, and owners. As the group of black athletes exits the field, the background fades into a visual of the same men in shackles being paraded at a slave auction. This is the image that left many viewers thinking.
This scene, equating the NFL Draft to a modern-day form of slave trade, is a small aspect of the topics Colin Kaepernick addresses in his limited series made in partnership with Academy Award-nominated director, Ava DuVernay. The series is a retelling of Kaepernick’s formative years, his journey through sports, and the events that molded him into the activist he has become today. After the discourse around Kaepernick’s previous acts of protest, (when he first knelt during the national anthem at a game) he had many commentators waiting to criticize his work.
In the opening clip, Kaepernick says, “Coaches will tell you they’re looking for warriors, killers, beasts. They say they want you to be an animal out there. And you want to give them that.”
He goes on to state, “What they don’t want you to understand, is what’s being established is a power dynamic.”
As the scene morphs into this chilling image of the previously vicious players transformed into shackled men, Kaepernick declares, “Before they put you on the field teams poke, prod, and examine you, searching for any defect that might affect your performance. No boundary respected; no dignity left intact.”
Several high-profile public figures have spoken out against the sentiment of this scene. Former Giants player Jack Brewer was one of the first to speak out against Kaepernick. On the Fox News program “Fox and Friends” he shares his reaction to the show, “(He) has the audacity to call multi-millionaires slaves and comparing the process of someone living their dream... to slavery.” Brewer continues to state, “He has an evil, anti-American spirit.”
Another republican figure, Megyn Kelly, also expressed her discontent with the series. She stated on her radio show this week, “The absurdity to compare what he willingly went through, which by the way... his deal wound up being worth $43 Million, to being a slave is a real F-you America moment.”
And we even saw a debate over this topic take place on the popular talk show The View. Guest host Michele Tafoya expressed her take on the topic, “No one pressures them, no one forces them to join the NFL.” She continues, “Everyone on them, Black, White, Latino, whoever’s playing the sport, will tell you how much they love it, and they’re willing to do it, and they make a damn good living.”
With all that being said, one of the most important issues raised by Kaepernick is the power dynamic created in the relationships between, typically, white coaches and their black players. In 2019, 58.9% of NFL players were African American, and there are currently only three African American head coaches in the NFL. Colin says, “As a kid, you don’t think you’re being groomed for a system, you just love playing football. You’re just trying to make the team.”
Many of the black players use football and other sports as an outlet, as well as a road to free education and bigger opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have. However, the reality is the game of football takes an enormous toll on the bodies of these men, with a large portion of players retiring in their 30’s and often developing serious health conditions later on in life.
To this day, Black players face discrimination in the league and run the risk of ruining their careers if they bring these issues to light. Kaepernick himself has not been able to re-assimilate into the league after his actions, remaining blackballed from playing.
With that being said, the league has made moves this past year to express their regret for past reactions to activism and their initiative to support players who feel compelled to do so. Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a video last year, “We, the National Football League admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the National Football League, believe black lives matter.”
The series, Colin in Black and White, is worth the watch and brings up a myriad of other issues, such as microaggressions, Caucasian beauty standards, racial profiling, etc.
Overall, the conversation and spotlight surrounding the show have brought attention to all of the issues presented by Kaepernick throughout his years as an activist against racial discrimination, especially within the NFL.