Colin Kaepernick: Immature or Human Being?
When San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick is in the news, it’s usually about his performance on the field, with some columns dedicated to how great of a quarterback he is. This week though, Kaepernick is in the news again, but for very different reasons.
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Kaepernick posted a picture on Instagram of the devastating storms in Houston. The photo featured submerged cars from the flood and with a hashtag #7stormsComing. The city of Houston has recently had to deal with heavy amounts of rain and severe flash flooding that damaged homes and led to several deaths.
Later, Kaepernick deleted the photo and he tweeted an apology for posting the photo and said:
"“I’m so sorry about my insensitive post earlier today. I didn’t fully understand how many people are struggling in Houston right now and I feel horrible. My prayers are with everyone there.”"
The backlash to what was admittedly, an insensitive Tweet, has been intense. But let’s just think about it for a moment and ask the question — Is Kaepernick simply immature? Or is he just a human being who, because of poor decision making, made a mistake?
San Francisco 49ers
According to Colin Cowherd of ESPN’s The Herd, Kaepernick is, “…a kid, not a adult.” Cowherd goes on to talk about how maturity is important to being an NFL quarterback and “how great quarterbacks were men when they came in the league…”
He goes on to say that Kaepernick will never grow into being a mature man, lambasting the quarterback by saying, “You’re a dope at 22, you’ll be a dope at 32.”
When Kaepernick threw out his hashtag #7stormsComing, he wasn’t referring to the storms that have ravaged Texas. In the past couple of weeks, Kaepernick created the hashtag and has been using it with his posts. It was meant “to purportedly warn opponents and observers alike of his improved game, initially made light of the storms and floodwaters causing havoc and loss of life.” according to ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.
Kaepernick’s intention was merely to intimidate his opponents and remind them that he’s coming back in 2015 in full force.
Let’s face it, we are all human beings and we all make mistakes in our lives regardless of our age. However, in Kaepernick’s case, he’s in the spotlight. Whatever he does or doesn’t do, people will criticize his every move both on and off the football field.
Yes, it’s true Kaepernick is a 27 year old man who should be mature enough to know the difference between right and wrong, between a tasteful joke and one made in poor taste. He’s not a little kid, he’s a grown-up and is accountable for his actions.
There is no question that Kaepernick should have thought twice before posting the photo. Kaepernick also needs to realize the power of social media. Sure he deleted the photo, but it doesn’t mean it will go away. But were we too quick to judge someone based on actions stemming from one bad decision — actions that weren’t meant to be malicious?
As the firestorm of controversy grew, Kaepernick realized he’d made a mistake and owned up to it by apologizing for his actions and insensitive remarks. His intentions were meant as a joke, not to make light of a serious matter like the storm in Houston.
Does all of this make Kaepernick a bad guy? Nope, he’s just human being who made a mistake.