C’MON, LET’S GIVE HIM THIS ONE: No, Trump Didn’t Cost Colin Kaepernick a Job.

On the flip-side, American anger over Kaepernick’s sclerotic 1968-era radical shtick may very well have helped Trump at the ballot box last November.

UNEXPECTEDLY. Colin Kaepernick update: some teams ‘genuinely hate him:’ 

“He can still play at a high level,” an anonymous AFC general manager told Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman. “The problem is three things are happening with him.

“First, some teams genuinely believe that he can’t play. They think he’s shot. I’d put that number around 20 percent.

“Second, some teams fear the backlash from fans after getting him. They think there might be protests or (President) Trump will tweet about the team. I’d say that number is around 10 percent. Then there’s another 10 percent that has a mix of those feelings.

“Third, the rest genuinely hate him and can’t stand what he did [kneeling for the national anthem]. They want nothing to do with him. They won’t move on. They think showing no interest is a form of punishment. I think some teams also want to use Kaepernick as a cautionary tale to stop other players in the future from doing what he did.”

If only the NFL had a commissioner who hadn’t tacitly approved of that clown show, he could have saved Kaepernick from himself.

SO MUCH WINNING, YOU’LL BE SICK OF ALL THE WINNING: Now That Trump’s in Office, Colin Kaepernick Says He Will Stand Again for National Anthem.

MONEY TALKS, WOKE-NESS WALKS. Go figure: New free agent Colin Kaepernick decides to stand for national anthem next season.

As Jim Geraghty tweets, “Colin Kaepernick’s going to stand for the national anthem next season? Wow, Trump really is making America great again.”

Heh, indeed.™

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES: Kaepernick’s Foolish Crusade Ends Up Costing 49ers Coach and General Manager Their Jobs.

ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES:

Shot: Controversial QB Colin Kaepernick named most courageous and inspirational player by his 49ers’ teammates.

Chaser: ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Threatens to Dethrone Sunday Night Football as TV’s Most Watched Show.

You went full SJW, NFL. Never go full SJW.

HOPEFULLY THE 49ERS AREN’T THINKING MUCH ABOUT IT, EITHER: Kaepernick insists he’s not thinking about future with 49ers.

Naturally, AP’s article contains zero references to the former quarterback’s dramatic transformation from gridiron warrior to fulltime social justice warrior.

EVEN YAHOO (GRUDGINGLY) ADMITS, “YES, COLIN KAEPERNICK IS HURTING NFL RATINGS.”

There’s a simple solution for the NFL, but it would require the league to admit its more conservative fans have a valid point. I’m not sure how well that would play at the cocktail parties nearby the league’s Park Ave. HQ.

Related: Levi’s Stadium is depressingly empty for Jets-49ers; ‘Fire Baalke’ banner flown.

THE TOP TEN SPORTS GRINCHES OF 2016.

In case you’re wondering, Kaepernick is merely number two.

FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED: Here’s how the NBA responded to the first Colin Kaepernick in professional group sports:

An odd controversy briefly dominated the sports pages in March 1996. A player in the National Basketball Association, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, refused to follow the league’s rule requiring that players stand in a “dignified posture” during the national anthem. Instead, since the beginning of the 1995-96 season, Abdul-Rauf had remained seated during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner.

A black, 27-year-old former Baptist from Mississippi who had converted to Islam in 1991, he declared that as a Muslim, he could not pay homage to the American flag – which he called a “symbol of oppression, of tyranny.” He argued further that the flag directly contradicted his Islamic faith: “This country has a long history of [oppression]. I don’t think you can argue the facts. You can’t be for God and for oppression. It’s clear in the Koran. Islam is the only way.”

The NBA responded firmly, suspending Abdul-Rauf until he agreed to obey league rules. He missed one game, then capitulated. Two factors probably weighed most heavily on him: losing a cool $31,707 for each game missed, and facing wide opposition to his decision from other Muslims.

What’s prevented the NFL from doing the same after Kaepernick began his ratings-destroying petulance this year?

(Via Kevin D. Williamson’s new article on “A Problem Like Keith Ellison.”)

AFTER NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTEST, COLIN KAEPERNICK DREADFUL IN LOSS TO BEARS: “With snow falling, Kaepernick failed to generate anything through the air and had one completion, a 4-yarder to tight end Vance McDonald midway through the second quarter. Kaepernick finished 1-for-5 for 4 yards and ran six times for 20 yards. He was sacked five times for losses equaling 25 yards and finished,” the Chicago Tribune reports. Unlike successful quarterbacks, the retired 49ers’ QB turned SJW waited until after the game to start heaving bombs:

Some in the crowd of 46,622 jeered Kaepernick when he and teammate Eli Harold kneeled during the anthem, something Kaepernick has done before games to protest what he believes are wrongdoings against minorities in the United States.

“I will continue to do it,” Kaepernick said after the game. “There are a lot of issues that still need to be addressed.

“And I do think there is significance in being here (Sunday) seeing it’s the anniversary of the assassination of chairman Fred Hampton,” continued Kaepernick, who was wearing a T-shirt with a photo of Hampton, a leader of the Illinois Black Panther Party who was killed during a raid by Chicago police on Dec. 4, 1969. “Being in Chicago, being able to acknowledge that a black figure, a black leader like him is very important and his role in being a leader in this community and bringing this community together is something that needs to be acknowledged.”

Huh – Colin Kaepernick morphed into Leonard Bernstein so slowly, I hardly even noticed.

ALL THE MASKS ARE FALLING: Understanding Colin Kaepernick.

BY THEIR ASSOCIATIONS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM: Unrepentant hypocrite Colin Kaepernick defends Fidel Castro.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Roger Goodell Is Bad For The NFL and America.

Related: Colin Kaepernick said he did not vote in Tuesday’s presidential election:

On Sunday, after the San Francisco 49ers lost 23-20 to the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, Arizona, Kaepernick defended his action.

“You know, I think it would be hypocritical of me to vote,” Kaepernick told reporters. “I said from the beginning I was against oppression, I was against the system of oppression. I’m not going to show support for that system. And to me, the oppressor isn’t going to allow you to vote your way out of your oppression.”

OVERREACH: Is Black Lives Matter Backfiring?

If Colin Kaepernick’s protest strategy is working, it hasn’t showed up yet in public opinion polling. Respect for local law enforcement soared over the last year to its highest level since 1968, according to a new survey from Gallup. . . .

Interestingly, changing opinions among Democrats and independents drove most of the increase. Republican respect for police, already overwhelming, ticked up only slightly, from 82 to 86 percent. Meanwhile, Democratic support surged from 54 to 68 percent; among independents, from 60 to 75. The uptick was more pronounced among nonwhites than whites.

The high levels of support for police registered in the survey aren’t necessarily incompatible with the message of the Black Lives Matter movement, and there have been indications that public opinion is swinging in the movement’s direction on some issues related to criminal justice reform. At the same time, if the movement had been successfully selling the public on the argument that law enforcement inflicts gratuitous violence against minorities on a large scale, we probably wouldn’t expect such a marked pro-police turn in the polls.

2015 Gallup polling in the wake of high-profile police shootings seemed to show public support for law enforcement slipping. But public attitudes have swung in the opposite direction over the past year, perhaps because of concern about rising urban crime rates as well as civil unrest in places like Charlotte and Dallas (where seven police officers were slain).

Maybe, next to what happened in Charlotte and Dallas, police don’t look so bad. Riots and assassination haven’t historically been the path to the moral high ground in America.

HOW THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PUNISH COLIN KAEPERNICK’S ANTI-PATRIOTISM.

Read the whole thing.

DISPATCHES FROM THE “IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN WE DO IT” PARTY:

Shot: “Colin Kaepernick Had No Choice but to Kneel.”

—Time magazine, which put Kaepernick on its cover this week after he refused to stand for the National Anthem, has a BLM-obsessed Twitter feed. and wore socks depicting pigs wearing police hats during training camp.

Chaser: “The Seattle Mariners suspended Steve Clevenger without pay for the remainder of the season, moving swiftly Friday to discipline their backup catcher after his set of tweets imploring that protestors in Charlotte should be ‘locked behind bars like animals.’”

—USA Today, yesterday.

(Classical reference in headline.)

JIM BROWN’S TOUGHEST DAY IN THE NFL: Attempting to talk sense into Colin Kaepernick:

Brown says he’s been heartened by signs of athletes recently speaking out on social issues, but says using the national anthem as a forum can be hurtful to veterans and others.

“You can point it out but you don’t necessarily want to disrespect the national anthem or the flag,” Brown said. “There are outside entities that are trying to bring this country down. We have to go back to the memories of 9-11. If that memory doesn’t do anything to you as an American, then you’re not really that sensitive a human being.

“When you think of the sacrifices our firefighters make, think about the service of soldiers in foreign lands and listen to their lives, you have to be careful that whatever you do, don’t cast a shadow on what these great people do. They make sure you have the right to speak out without retaliation, or at least no retaliation other than other people criticizing you.”

Brown said he voiced his concerns to Kaepernick.

“I talked to (Kaepernick) and I expressed my thought that his intentions are great and I back that 100 percent, because I’m glad to hear a young man speak out,” Brown said. “But when it comes to our country and our flag, I don’t want to tamper with that. I want to take off my gloves and work hard to deal with a process and bring about change.”

In contrast, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is perfectly fine with his players trashing the National Anthem:

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league will encourage players to use their voice to promote social change as the demonstrations during the national anthem started by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick last month continue to spread to other teams.

Speaking before the Minnesota Vikings’ first regular-season game at their new stadium against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, Goodell told a group of reporters the movement from “protests to progress” is a positive sign.

“As I’ve said before, I truly respect our players wanting to speak out and change the community,” Goodell said. “We don’t live in a perfect society. We want them to use that voice. And they’re moving from protests to progress and trying to make things happen in the communities. And I admire that about our players, (being) willing to do that.

“Obviously, we want to respect people. We want to respect our differences. We want to respect our flag and our country, and our players understand that. So I think where they’re moving and how they’re moving there is very productive, and we’re going to encourage that.

Goodell said he hasn’t reached out to Kaepernick directly.

Kaepernick once again kneeled during The Star-Spangled Banner before the 49ers’ loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. Members of the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers were among others demonstrating in different ways during the anthem. Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said in a radio interview his team will do some sort of demonstration before Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bears.

Pete Rozelle, the former PR man who became legendary as the NFL’s commissioner from 1960 to 1989, who won an anti-trust exemption from Congress, presided over the merger of the NFL and the AFL, the creation of the Super Bowl, Monday Night Football, and the NFL’s ascendancy into America’s most popular pro sport, worked very hard to craft an image of his players as gentleman warriors. Rozelle kept his political opinions very close to his vest while alive, and I can’t imagine he would let protests against the American flag go on for very long without tamping them down behind the scenes and hard. But of course, that was before the fundamental transformation and “woke-ness.”

RETIRED GENERAL: Obama should not support Kaepernick’s protest.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS GIVE IN TO COLIN KAEPERNICK, WILL SPEND $1 MILLION ON SOCIAL JUSTICE:

Colin Kaepernick’s protests against the national anthem may not be winning him many friends among patriotic Americans, but he has managed to guilt the San Francisco 49ers into a major donation to social justice causes.

The San Francisco 49ers CEO, Jed York, announced that the team is pledging more than $1 million to Bay Area community organizations working to “to end racial and economic disparities.”

Huh. How did an area that Democrats have had an utter monopoly on for decades become such a cesspit of racial and economic disparity? Those hoarders and wreckers are everywhere!

And oh, the fun that would ensue if Kaepernick was asked to define the meaning of “social justice.”

OBAMA DEFENDS KAEPERNICK’S NATIONAL ANTHEM PROTEST.

Unexpectedly.

ESPN MAG’S HOWARD BRYANT: ‘WHITE MEDIA’ USED ‘INTIMIDATION’ ON BRAVE, DISSENTING QB KAEPERNICK.

What a way to infer that an NFL quarterback is a pansy – if Kaepernick can be intimidated by a bunch of pencil-necked lefty geeks with iPads and press badges, how can he face down the hulking defensive lines of the Steelers and the Raiders?

SANTA CLARA POLICE UNION THREATENS BOYCOTT OF 49ERS GAMES OVER KAEPERNICK PROTEST.

Since one of the apparent goals of the Black Lives Matter movement is to create European Muslim-style police no-go zones in America’s worst neighborhoods, why not posh Levi’s Stadium as well?

And given the Bay Area’s legendarily well-behaved youth, really, what’s the worst that could happen if the police choose not to protect a large Northern California outdoor entertainment venue?

THIS IS CNN: How Colin Kaepernick is bravely speaking truth to power.

COLIN KAEPERNICK TAKES KNEE FOR NATIONAL ANTHEM AT ‘SALUTE TO THE MILITARY’ GAME: “And this time Kaepernick enjoyed solidarity from a teammate. Fourth-year safety Eric Reid, dressed in street clothes, opted to take a knee during the song as well.”

At a different preseason game yesterday, Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane joined Kaepernick by sitting during national anthem, Business Insider reports.

Witness the awesome douche power of this fully politicized National Football League.