Chicago Bears defensive lineman Akiem Hicks did not mince words when discussing how he felt about Colin Kaepernick’s inability to find a new NFL job after kneeling in protest during the national anthem.
Hicks voiced his opinion that Kaepernick had been blackballed by the NFL due to his national anthem protests. As evidence, he simply pointed to the fact that his team gave Mike Glennon a $45 million deal three years ago when Kaepernick had just left the San Francisco 49ers.
Akiem Hicks says it's clear to him that Colin Kaepernick lost his career because of kneeing then drops a bomb in the middle of the conversation: "We signed Mike Glennon."
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) June 3, 2020
Unsurprisingly, no backtrack from Akiem Hicks: "You heard that, huh? Yeah, I said that. It was a feeling."
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) June 3, 2020
Hicks’ point was that the Bears could have signed Kaepernick, who had led a team to a Super Bowl appearance. Instead, they signed Glennon and made him the starter. He went just 1-3 before being benched in favor of then-rookie Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears cut Glennon after just one year of his original three-year deal, and he hasn’t started for any other team since.
Kaepernick’s peaceful protest — and what he was protesting — have both received renewed attention in recent days in light of the death of George Floyd. It even has people who worked with the NFL at the time admitting that they were wrong in their handling with Kaepernick. Hicks is only adding to the evidence on that.
