XFL 'never really considered' Colin Kaepernick, CEO says he's more excited to watch Cardale Jones
The XFL, a professional football league, "never really considered" quarterback Colin Kaepernick joining the league, according to CEO and Commissioner Oliver Luck.
The league's head, in a statement on Wednesday, January 8, said that he was more interested in what other quarterbacks in the game have to showcase instead.
He made the comment during an interview on ESPN Radio’s 'The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz' while he was highlighting the XFL’s new rules and the first week of the season, which is set to take place after the Super Bowl on Saturday.
"As we put our player pool together, we got the guys in the pool—with support and guidance from our coaches and our personnel people—that wanted to play in our league, that were willing to play for the salaries that we were offering," Luck said. "We think we got great quarterbacks."
"If I had to pick a guy I’m most excited to watch it’s Cardale Jones who’s with the D.C. team," he added. "A guy who had a remarkable run back at Ohio State winning the national championship and probably left school a year too early and bounced around the NFL and landed with us. And I can’t wait to see this guy play. He’s such a gifted... Physically gifted and mentally smart guy. I’m looking forward to him. I think the quality of guys we have is pretty damn good.”
There were speculations of Kapernick, a former National Football League (NFL) player and free agent, playing in the XFL despite the league's founder, Vince McMahon, making it clear that no protests or demonstrations would be permitted on the field at all.
Luck, while speaking to the Tampa Bay Times, last month had said that Kaepernick's salary demands were too high for the league.
Kaepernick stirred a national controversy in an effort to protest against reported police brutality against black people 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 movement drew heavy criticism from President Donald Trump, who even called for the owners of the NFL teams to fire the players who were participating in it.
The quarterback has not played a single game ever since leaving the NFL in 2016.