J. Cole let Colin Kaepernick know where he stands with a tweet on Sunday (Nov. 17).
“Me thinking the NFL was about to do the right thing,” he wrote, along with three clown emojis.
The rapper is one of several people who believe that the NFL was at fault over the handling of Kaepernick’s Saturday (Nov. 16) workout. The controversy stems from Kaepernick’s short-notice decision to change the location of the event. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback reportedly changed the workout venue from the previously scheduled Atlanta Falcons’ training facility in Atlanta to Charles Drew High School in Riverdale, GA.
In a statement from the league, tweeted by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL claimed that they were “disappointed” that Kaepernick did not appear at the scheduled location for his workout.
“Today’s session was designed to give Colin what he has consistently said he wants—an opportunity to show his football readiness and desire to return to the NFL,” the statement read, adding that 25 clubs were present for the workout.
In a tweeted video about the workout, ESPN’s Stephen Smith claimed Kaepernick “doesn’t want to play.”
“This man wanted the chance, 25 teams show up in Georgia at the Atlanta Falcons practice facility… Saturday, three hours before the workout because of some issue with a liability waiver, Colin Kaepernick wants to change the venue,” Smith said. “You don’t want to work. You just want to make noise and you want to control the narrative.”
Complex reported that JAY-Z, who is though to have had some influence in organizing Kaepernick’s workout, was also “disappointed” in the football player. The outlet wrote that JAY-Z felt Kaepernick turned the event into a publicity stunt by changing the workout’s location and making it more accessible to the media.
According to ESPN, a total of eight teams attended Kaepernick’s workout at the high school, rather than the 25 that had been present at the Falcons’ practice facility.
Kaepernick reportedly changed the workout location to accommodate the media and spectators and because he refused to sign a liability waiver that the NFL had introduced to him earlier that day.
In a statement delivered to the media in attendance, Kaepernick further explained why he changed the workout venue.
“Our biggest thing today was making sure that we had transparency in what was going on. We weren’t getting that elsewhere, so we came out here,” he said. “Y’all been attacked for the last three years. Y’all continue to be attacked. We appreciate what y’all do. We appreciate you being here today and we appreciate the work you do for the people in telling the truth.”
“I’ve been ready for three years and I’ve been denied for three years,” he continued. “We all know why I came out here and showed everybody.”