NFL
Brett Favre Views Colin Kaepernick as a Hero Like Pat Tillman
Kyle Dalton began covering sports in 1992 after he graduated from the University of Texas school of journalism. He published his book Burned Orange: Tom Penders and 10 Years at the University of Texas in 2000, and ed Sportscasting in 2020. Kyle expertly covers the NFL, NASCAR, and NCAA football. Kyle finds inspiration in the unscripted drama of sports, the compelling journeys and life stories of the athletes who play the games, and he enjoys reading the work of Mitch Albom. He is a rabid consumer of all sports on all platforms: TV, Twitter, podcasts, live events, and more.
Get to know Kyle Dalton betterPublished22 Jun 2020
To many football fans, Hall of Fame quarterback Pat Tillman.
Pat Tillman gave up game and life for country
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The Arizona Cardinals drafted Pat Tillman out of Arizona State in the 7th round of the 1998 NFL draft. Not many pundits gave the selection of the 5-foot-11-inch Tillman a second thought. Most figured heād be just another seventh-rounder that would get cut at some point in training camp.
Tillman not only didnāt get cut, he made the team and made an immediate impact his rookie season. That year Tillman started 10 games with the Cardinals and finished fifth on the team in tackles with 73. Tillmanās best season was 2000, when he finished second on the team with 155 tackles. He put up solid statistics in 2001, but after 9/11 happened, numbers and football werenāt on the top of his mind; serving his country was.
In May 2002, eight months after the September 11 attacks, Tillman turned down a three-year, $3.6-million offer from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army with his brother Kevin. Tillman served one tour in Iraq, where he was part of the initial invasion of Iraqi Freedom. In late 2003, Tillman deployed to Afghanistan as an Army Ranger. He died tragically in April 2004 in a friendly fire accident.
Brett Favre said Colin Kaepernick a hero like Tillman
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When Colin Kaepernick took a knee in 2016, he clearly stated his motivation for doing so.
āI am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.ā
Colin Kaepernick
Despite Kaepernickās intentions, many, including the President, viewed his taking a knee during the national anthem as disrespectful to the flag and military. For NFL owners, that backlash was a red flag. They proceeded to blackball Kaepernick. He hasnāt played a single snap since.
Brett Favre said Kaepernickās willingness to take a stand for something and sacrifice the game heās dreamed of playing since a young age is quite irable and reminds him of someone else everyone considers a hero.
āI can only think ofāright off the top of my headāPat Tillmanās another guy who did something similar, and we regard him as a hero,ā Favre told TMZ.com. āSo Iād assume that hero status will be stamped with Kaepernick as wellā¦ Itās not easy for a guy his age, black or white, Hispanic, whatever, to stop something that youāve always dreamed of doing and put it on holdāmaybe foreverāfor something that you believe in.ā
Brett Favre on Colin Kaepernick returning to the game
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Colin Kaepernickās name has been front and center since protestors took to the streets of American cities speaking out against systemic racism and police brutality following the death of George Floyd. Many have said one potential step in the right direction would be to give Kaepernick a chance to try out for an NFL team.
While NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has refused to apologize directly to Kaepernick, he did say the former 49ers quarterback should be given a chance to play in the NFL if heād like to continue.
āIf he wants to resume his career in the NFL, then obviously itās going to take a team to make that decision,ā Goodell told ESPNās Mike Greenberg. āBut I welcome that, a club making that decision and encourage them to do that.ā
The Green Bay Packers legend, who knows a thing or two about coming out of retirement, agreed.
āI think from a football sense, I canāt imagine him being that far out of shape or that far out of touch with football that he doesnāt deserve a shotā¦ And heās still young and hasnāt been hit in several years, so thereās no reason to think that heās lost that much of a step.ā
Favreās comments likely wonāt influence any team one way or another to select Kaepernick. But Favreās words do show he understands Kaepernickās return to action as an NFL quarterback doesnāt really matter because heās already etched a much bigger legacy in the history books than he ever could on a football field.
