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Colin Kaepernick says he's been 'denied employment' for 1363 days but is ready, Internet slams NFL's hypocrisy

Kaepernick tweeted a video of him training along with fellow free agent Eric Reid months after rumors of the former 49er star joining an NFL team emerged

Former National Football League quarterback Colin Kapernick, on Monday, November 23, stated that he has been "denied employment" for 1,363 days, however, he is still putting in the work and is "still ready" to play. The social justice activist made the statement through a video he posted from his official Twitter handle.

Kaepernick, in the video, can be seen training along with fellow free agent Eric Reid months after rumors of the former 49er star joining an NFL team emerged. The quarterback shared the video with the caption: "1,363 days of being denied employment. Still putting in work with @E_Reid35 Still going hard 5 days a week. #StillReady #StopRunning."

Kaepernick hasn’t played a down since opting out of his contract in 2016, the same year the quarterback began his kneeling protest when he was with the San Francisco 49ers. The player stirred a national controversy in an effort to protest police brutality in the country. Other players soon took his cue and joined the protest in the 2016 season, while many others have continued the protest till now. Kaepernick's move drew heavy criticism from President Donald Trump, who even called for the owners of the NFL teams to fire the participating players. The NFL, in 2017, announced a rule which required all the players to stand during the national anthem. The association, however, gave an option to the players to stand off the field until the ceremony was over instead of kneeling outside.

Shortly after Kaepernick's tweet, many social media users called out the "hypocrisy" of NFL and backed the player for his initial decision of continuing the protest. One user wrote: "As @Kaepernick7 stays ready and still unemployed that shows the hypocrisy of the NFL. The moment that @Kaepernick7 stops playing then the NFL will run with the narrative that he doesn’t want to play any more so that’s why we don’t want him." Another said that they might see Kaepernick playing next year: "I believe 2021 will be the year Colin Kaepernick takes the field. It will happen. Which team will step up and be on the right side of history? Do the right thing. Hire Kaepernick." A third added: "Not to be reductive, but I can assure u that using ur status/platform to fight & start a movement against police brutality, will go down in history as far more important than throwing a ball for entertainment ever will. U made the right decision. You know this, we all know this."

The quarterback has continued to keep in shape, in hope that a franchise will sign him and he will get to play again. Kaepernick, who led San Francisco to the 2013 Super Bowl, reached a confidential settlement with the NFL last February after alleging that the league had blackballed him. The NFL had arranged tryouts for the quarterback at Atlanta Falcons training facility in Georgia last year, however, the location was shifted to a high school stadium at the last minute. Kaepernick, while commenting on the change, had stated that it was done so that the media could be present. Reports state that Kaepernick's team decided to move the location of his workout after they accused the NFL of not acting rightfully.

It was also reported this year in June that Kaepernick was planning his comeback to the NFL as multiple teams were interested in him post the George Floyd protests. Floyd was a Black father-of-two who died at the hands of a White police officer during his arrest in Minneapolis in May. His death led to widespread protests across the country against police brutality and brought Kaepernick's protest to the fore, with even the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell apologizing to Kaepernick and other players for not listening to them during their protest.

NFL Network's reporter Michael Silver, in June, had stated that "multiple" teams and at least one head coach were interested in the 32-year-old, and that he could be signed before the next season. "I have talked to one head coach who is absolutely interested," Silver had said. He, however, added that the hold-up was because of the coronavirus pandemic which had rendered teams unable to conduct workouts.