Colin Kaepernick changes workout location after NFL refuses transparency

The NFL tried to play hardball with Colin Kaepernick, and Colin Kaepernick pushed back. Here’s why everybody loses in this standoff.

Everything was all set up for Colin Kaepernick’s workout for at least 24 NFL teams at the Falcons’ facility at Flowery Branch, Ga. Jeff Foster, the president of NFL Scouting, who is also responsible for determining which draft prospects will attend each scouting combine, was set to run the workout. Former NFL head coaches Hue Jackson and Joe Philbin, who each have a long history of working with quarterbacks, were set to assist. The Falcons had agreed to provide an athletic trainer, an equipment person, and a videographer. There was to be a combine-style interview, a preliminary workout, and a throwing session.

And then, when Kaepernick and his representatives requested that the media be allowed to attend the workout, the NFL refused, and the goalposts moved quickly.

“Because of recent decisions made by the NFL, the workout for Colin Kaepernick will be changing to an alternate location in Atlanta which will now start at 4:00 p.m.,” Kaepernick’s representatives said in a statement. “Further, all media will be invited to attend, and upon request be provided with the location.

“From the outset, Mr. Kaepernick requested a legitimate process and from the outset, the NFL league office has not provided one. Most recently, the NFL has demanded that as a precondition to the workout, Mr. Kaepernick sign an unusual liability waiver that addresses employment issues and rejected the standard liability waiver from physical injury proposed by Mr. Kaepernick’s representatives.

“Additionally, Mr. Kaepernick requested all media be allowed into the workout to observe and film it, and for an independent film crew to be there to ensure transparency. The NFL denied this request. Based on prior conduct by the NFL league office, Mr. Kaepernick simply asks for a transparent and open process, which is why a new location has been selected for today. Mr. Kaepernick looks forward to seeing the representatives from the clubs today.”

This was the NFL’s response:

Per D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the new location is Charles Drew High School in Riverdale, Ga. The new location is about an hour away from the Falcons’ facility. But it’s an easier schlep to the Atlanta airport, which makes things a bit more convenient for any out-of-town attendees who still choose to attend.

Needless to say, there’s a lot to unpack here. It could be said that the NFL has refused to act in good faith from the beginning of this process. The league gave Kaepernick minimal notice of the workout. The league set the workout for a Saturday, when most NFL shot-callers are at college games — as opposed to a Tuesday, the standard day for free agent workouts. The league refused to allow media to be a part of the workout — which is a highly interesting condition, given that the NFL would film Roger Goodell feeding his dog if the NFL thought it could make money from the exercise. The NFL hasn’t informed Kaepernick of the names of the league-provided receivers he was to throw to in the league’s version of this workout, leading Kaepernick to bring his own receivers. And now, when Kaepernick asks for simple transparency in a process he has every reason to believe is rigged against him, the NFL refused outright.

Per Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports, the NFL-mandated waiver including non-guarantees of employment was a major issue when it came to how things fell apart.

This is obviously a major spike strip in Kaepernick’s process, as we have no way of knowing if all of the team representatives will travel to the new location. We don’t know whether the league will move the trainer, equipment person, and videographer to the new location. We now have no idea who Kaepernick will be working out for, and to what end. Not that we did before, but the additional complications fostered by this standoff don’t help either party.

We can but wait and see if this circus, established as it was by the NFL’s “ready-fire-aim” modus operandi, will create anything beyond a bunch of busy writers switching headlines as the drama increases.