Kid Rock's Colin Kaepernick Stance is Actually Instructive

Kid Rock, who is flirting with the idea of trading in his guitar for the uber boring job of state senator, has doubled down on his “F— Colin Kaepernick” sentiment.

In a lengthy and not at all outrageous Facebook post, Kid Rock once again addresses the pressing issue of an unemployed quarterback as it is important to Michigan taxpayers.

"P.P.S. To be clear – F— ANYONE who takes a knee or sits during our national anthem! Pretty sure if Russell Wilson or Tom Brady were doing it they would have no problem finding a job playing for any team they wanted in the NFL! So cut the bulls—!"

Now, to be fair, this is one of the more lucid paragraphs in the post. Rock is making it clear that it’s nothing personal with Kaepernick, he just can’t stand anyone who doesn’t stand up for the national anthem — for any reason. He also posits that Kaepernick is without a team because of his unremarkable play, and not his politics.

At the risk of ascribing a professional level of front-office talent evaluation to the musician, let’s consider how these two ideas can possibly co-exist without tainting each other. How can a person who has been open in trashing Kaepernick’s social advocacy in the most vitriolic terms be trusted to proctor a fair and unbalanced take on the quarterback’s viability on the field?

Kid Rock is obviously a ridiculous example. But his way of tackling the Kaepernick problem is reflective of so many who are seemingly working backwards to justify an emotionally-held position. The argument that the outspoken free agent isn’t good enough to play in the NFL only comes on the heels of belittling his decision not to stand for the anthem.

The game is obvious, and is a classic example of hasty CYA-ing.

My position — that Kaepernick is a competent quarterback who deserves to be in the NFL — is well-documented. So one could accuse me of doing the exact same thing as the anti-Kap camp. That is, hustling in reverse to justify that he belongs in the league because I believe in what he’s fighting for.

But the difference is that my belief is not motivated by a deep-seated opinion of his kneeling. It’s easy to understand his reasons for doing so, and yet I don’t believe it’s been a net positive for himself or the fight for justice. My feelings are mixed, and they are not inflamed by passion.

That’s how we should all be approaching the Kaepernick controversy. His national anthem protests should be set aside and his viability as a player should be the only thing considered. And those assessments are tough to take at face value if there’s a strong reaction already to a pundit’s name.

We can, against all odds, actually take something from Kid Rock’s analysis. And that’s to take it — and its ilk — with a large grain of salt.