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Colin Kaepernick back on Madden NFL 21 as highest-rated free agent, EA Sports slammed for giving in to pressure

Kaepernick has returned with an overall rating of 81, tying him as the 15th-best QB in the virtual game with the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger

On Tuesday, September 9, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was added back into Madden NFL 21 as the highest-rated free agent after being phased out of the simulation following the 2016 season when he last played for the league as part of the San Francisco 49ers and began kneeling during the national anthem to protest systemic racism. His reintroduction into the virtual world of football was met with considerable criticism from conservatives as well as sport-lovers. 

According to Forbes, Kaepernick has returned with an overall rating of 81, tying him as the 15th-best QB in the game with the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger. His return was announced by EA Sports with a tweet that said, "Welcome Back, Kap!" and had a picture of the athlete's animated face. 

Many users believed that EA Sports had been pressurized to bring Kaepernick back, given the growing scale of the Black Lives Matter movement across the country following the death of George Floyd on May 25 and a number of other African-Americans shot since then. The following are some of the reactions:

"We can all see through your thinly veiled excuse for this lame move. Feeling pressured much? How many free agents have been featured that haven’t played in 3+ years in past @EAMaddenNFL versions?"

"More like 71 get the hell out of here lmao 81 y’all must of had Kap people gun point at y’all demanding for this shit. Lmao little kids play the game. Doing a whole lot"

"Once again,WHY EA! Why put an Anti-American, Anti-Law, Anti-Military, and a downright Racist!, not to mention a has been former NFL player,back in Madden?NO SIR! he gets NO welcome back from me!,Being Pro Law, Former Military, Pro American, and Anti Racist.EA u made bad choice here!"

"How did he go from a 74 overall on Madden 17 to a 81 overall in Madden 21?"

"'One of the top free agents and a starting caliber quarterback' HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHASHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Can’t wait to see how overrated he is. Can’t put him too low because you’d be racist because of the woke BLM mob. This is comical."

"Clearly a stunt for the benefit of EA. Low sales, complete backlash and a new hashtag daily for their product, and they make this move to gain sales and popularity. This is not for Kap or anyone else but EA and their wEAk product."

"Seriously. This just infuriates me. They removed this man for the same reasons they now return him. Zero accountability, acceptance or commitment to the soundtrack and MUT GT being done intentionally. Hes been a FA this whole time, players have wanted him back for years."

"Wait...so he had a rating of 74 in Madden 17 & now he has a rating of 81 in Madden 21...They must have some people from Rivals working over there"

Regarding the decision to bring Kaepernick back, EA Sports released the following statement: "We want to make Madden NFL a place that reflects Colin's position and talent, rates him as a starting QB and empowers our fans to express their hopes for the future of football. We had a long relationship with Colin through Madden NFL and worked through our past soundtrack mistakes. We've worked with Colin to make this possible, and we're excited to bring it to all of you today."