This archive report was first published on 10 June 2020.
On June 10, 2020, Malcolm Jenkins, a safety for the New Orleans Saints and a founding member of the NFL's Players Coalition, urged the league to apologize to Colin Kaepernick and give him a chance to return to the sport.
Speaking to CBS's 'This Morning' program, Jenkins emphasized that the NFL's recent expressions of contrition would be meaningless without acknowledging Kaepernick's case.
As one of the first NFL players to protest racial injustice and police brutality by refusing to stand for the US national anthem in 2016, Kaepernick was subsequently released by the San Francisco 49ers in early 2017 and has not played in the NFL since.
Although NFL commissioner Roger Goodell recently stated that the league had botched its handling of player protests and vowed to support peaceful protests in future, Jenkins argued that the failure to acknowledge Kaepernick by name and the fact that he remains unemployed are significant marks against the NFL.
“Until they apologise, specifically, to Colin Kaepernick, or assign him to a team, I don’t think that they will end up on the right side of history,” Jenkins said.
His comments were backed by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who also expressed support for Kaepernick's right to return to the league.
At the funeral of George Floyd in Houston, civil rights leader Al Sharpton also called for Kaepernick to be given the opportunity to resurrect his career.
