The San Francisco 49ers are in their first Super Bowl since the end of the 2012 season, which has brought to mind for many the quarterback of that 2012 49ers team — Colin Kaepernick, who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016 because (based on who you believe) either he was blackballed for kneeling during the National Anthem during games, or because his skill set mysteriously disappeared overnight.
Kaepernick had an ill-fated tryout for several teams last November, but he remains unsigned. Last December, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell insisted that Kaepernick was not being blackballed, and said that Kaepernick was welcome to meet with the league regarding its own social justice efforts — efforts that seemed to mirror Kaepernick’s own concerns, but were initiated without his direct involvement.
However, it would appear that the very notion of Kapernick’s presence is something the NFL would rather not deal with during Super Bowl week. On Friday, PETA (People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals) revealed an ad it had intended to have run during the FOX Sports telecast of Super Bowl 54.
According to PETA, it was a no-go.
THIS is the PETA #SuperBowl ad the @NFL apparently didn’t want you to see and pressured @FOXSports to snub.
It envisions a world where respect is the right of every being and pays homage to Kaepernick and movements rejecting injustice. https://t.co/kD1osnKhuX #EndSpeciesism pic.twitter.com/clXzU79aZV
— PETA (@peta) January 31, 2020
“The National Football League (NFL) apparently found our new Colin Kaepernick–inspired ad—with its message of inclusion and respect—too daring and pressured FOX to snub our commercial,” the organization said in a statement.
“In 2016, Kaepernick put a national spotlight on the racial inequality that plagues the U.S.—and we applaud him for doing so with the simple yet powerful and peaceful act of taking a knee.
“PETA worked with a talented group of advertisers and artists who came up with the idea for our beautiful ad. Positively acknowledged by Kaepernick himself, this project pays homage to all movements that remind us to open our hearts and minds and reject all forms of injustice, including sexism, ableism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and speciesism.”
And then, the zinger at the end.
“The NFL may be unconcerned with inequality, but we at PETA are activists who will continue to work to dismantle all forms oppression.”
Not a good look for a league that has been trying to mitigate the Kaepernick saga for years, and now wants to be known as a pace-setter on the activism front — apparently, as long as everyone plays by the NFL’s rules.