The Morning Briefing: Inevitable—Everyone Hates Kaepernick Now

He Finally Did It

In the three years since Colin Kaepernick knelt his way off of the San Francisco 49ers and out of the National Football League, the one thing the drama has lacked is ambivalence. People either hated him or viewed him as a social hero who was being mistreated and prevented from playing the game he loves.

Now everybody just hates him.

Throughout his supposedly unwanted hiatus from football, Kaepernick and those representing him have insisted that he is staying in playing shape and merely wanted a chance to showcase his skills for a team.

Last week, the NFL offered him that chance. The Nike hero was supposed to work out for twenty-five teams in Atlanta last Saturday.

As most of you probably know by now, the workout was derailed a bit because Kaepernick did what he truly does best: act like an insufferable prima donna.

At 2:30 p.m. Eastern time, with about two dozen scouts waiting at the Falcons’ facility, Kaepernick announced that the workout would be moved to a high school an hour away. Many scouts threw up their arms and headed straight to the airport. Dozens of reporters and cameramen drove south to the high school field.

The NFL — which often gets things like this wrong — responded like adults, but if you read between the lines here, you can see that they’re really over Kaepernick:

NFL’s response to Colin Kaepernick opting to do his own workout today in Atlanta: pic.twitter.com/uvUZGH7CQ5

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 16, 2019

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith recorded a short video that really summed up this mess perfectly:

He doesn't want to play. pic.twitter.com/ZuSI1IVW9r

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) November 17, 2019

One thing that gets lost in all of the noise that Kaepernick deliberately creates around himself is that his quarterback skills had been in a bit of a freefall throughout most of his last season in the NFL. He’d been benched, and that had nothing to do with his kneeling. A few years away from the game certainly haven’t made any of that better, no matter how hard he’s been working out.

Kaepernick probably has adequate NFL backup quarterback skills, but does anybody believe this pathological attention you-know-what would take that kind of role?

Not after last Saturday.

Breaking Nerd

Chemistry professors accused of making meth in school lab https://t.co/qqcSuR6IF9 pic.twitter.com/Rn2wDbYOvm

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) November 18, 2019

PJM Linktank

Survey says! Is Former CIA Director John Brennan the Leader of the Coup Against Trump?

LOL…they’re too loony left even for him: Obama Warns Democratic Candidates that Voters ‘Don’t Want to See Crazy Stuff’ From Them

From the Mothership and Beyond

I’m sure the folks over in Bernieville did this totally by accident: MSNBC apologizes after leaving Andrew Yang off its graphic of Dems polling at 3% in Iowa

Ex-NBC correspondent Bruce Hensel arrested for asking 9-year-old for sexual photos

The homeless people will love that money was spent on this instead of them: California Is Spending $2.4 Million to Build the World’s Largest Permanent Installation of Climate Change-Themed Art

Incredibly, he keeps finding ways to be more tedious: Schiff: Democrats Will Send “Charlatan” Trump Back To Golden Throne

They’re probably too embarrassed to be seen with us: How Do You Study Aliens If They Don’t Wish To Be Studied?

A most gracious man: Legendary MAGA Supporter To Receive National Medal Of Arts, Critics Fume

Schlichter: What If They Gave an Impeachment and Nobody Came?

Myths and Misinformation Infect Drug Policy Proposals

‘Absolutely brutal’! FedEx CEO calls fake news (and then some) on NY Times’ ‘outrageous distortion,’ issues debate challenge

Fire breaks out at #PolyUniversity in Hong Kong after police raid

Asian airlines slash flights to Hong Kong as unrest escalates

The Kruiser Kabana 

Absolute monstrosity of a marlin pic.twitter.com/5P4G1Ix2wm

— The Unexplained (@Unexplained) October 23, 2019

I’ve been binge-watching Phineas and Ferb on Disney Plus. This is one of those rare cartoons that’s just as entertaining for the adults to watch. Loved watching this when my daughter was younger. I even love the theme song. So here it is.

PJ Media Associate Editor Stephen Kruiser is the author of “Don’t Let the Hippies Shower” and “Straight Outta Feelings: Political Zen in the Age of Outrage,” both of which address serious subjects in a humorous way. Monday through Friday he edits PJ Media’s “Morning Briefing.”