Colin Kaepernick Compared NFL Draft to Slavery Camps in Netflix Documentary "Colin in Black & White"
Former football quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, has likened the NFL draft and training to slavery camps in his Netflix documentary "Colin in Black & White."
One scene shows players being paraded in front of coaches and scouts before they were seen in shackles on an auction block, according to a Daily Mail report.
The Netflix documentary narrates Kaepernick's childhood from high school to being one of the advocates for social justice. He became a controversial figure in the NFL 2016 when he knelt during the playing of the U.S. national anthem to protest police brutality.
Kaepernick says that what coaches and scouts do not want players to understand is that the NFL draft and training create a "power dynamic."
Kaepernick said that NFL owners and coaches will poke, prod, and examine players for any defect that might affect their performance before putting them on the field.
The former NFL player said that there is no boundary respect, no dignity left intact.
Meanwhile, Kaepernick and his new documentary had drawn criticisms on social media.
Clay Travis tweeted that Kaepernick compares the NFL to slavery. Travis said that NFL allows all players of races a chance to become multimillionaires. He went on to say that anyone still defending this "imbecile" lacks a functional brain, according to a Fox News report.
Rep. Burgess Owens, who is a former football player, took a jab against Kaepernick. He tweeted, "how dare" the former NFL player compares the "evil endured" by their ancestors to a bunch of millionaires who chose to play games.
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Colin Kaepernick in NFL
Kaepernick insisted that his failure to rejoin the league was due to being blacklisted by NFL owners opposing his anthem protests. However, he said that he still practices daily in case a professional football team calls, CBS News reported.
Kaepernick said that he still wakes up at 5 a.m. six days a week and makes sure that he is prepared to take a team to a Super Bowl again. The former quarterback said that that is something he will never let go of despite the actions of 32 teams and their partners, denying him employment.
Kaepernick has not played in a professional football game since 2016 after leading the kneeling protests during the national anthem in light of police brutality and racial injustice.
Kaepernick and his former teammate, free-agent safety Eric Reid, filed grievances against the league in 2017. They alleged that they were unsigned as owners collaborated to keep them out of the league over the protests.
The two had reached a private settlement in 2019 in an undisclosed amount.
Kaepernick has had numerous endorsements since his NFL days. His endorsements include major companies like Nike and a Netflix deal, among others.
"Colin in Black & White" premiered on October 29. He said that he enjoyed the acting in the show and that the process felt similar to warming up for a football game.
Kaepernick said he hopes the show will speak to young audiences who experienced the same struggles he had growing up.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Colin in Black and White | Official Trailer - from Netflix