Kaepernick needs to work on delivery, but message is right

Two years ago I ripped Colin Kaepernick pretty hard on social media. It had to do with him being too tired to sign autographs for a couple of kids.

So when I heard he’d decided not to stand for the national anthem, I figured he was just exhausted from his San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback duties. … You know, having to carry that heavy clipboard around, and lugging those huge paychecks to the bank.

University of Hawaii football fans haven’t felt much aloha for the guy since Kaepernick was less than gracious in defeat after the Warriors knocked his Nevada team out of the unbeaten ranks in 2010.

He’s mostly been a bust with the Niners.

Mark Carpenter, formerly of Hawaii News Now and now at KRON-4 in San Francisco, says he earned a reputation for mostly being a pain in the okole even with the Bay Area media. “Aloof and dismissive sums it up perfectly,” says Carpenter, noting that until recently many Kaepernick answers were of the one-word variety.

A lot of people, including me, weren’t predisposed to give this guy a pass for a Star-Spangled sit-down strike.

But none of that really mattered. Just because you’re a jerk doesn’t mean you don’t have the right to free speech. And it doesn’t mean what he has to say isn’t important.

The message is muffled by the method of delivery, and many won’t get past legitimate emotional outrage to hear it.

But he’s right.

Deep-rooted problems involving race and class divide this country just as they did 48 years ago when John Carlos and Tommie Smith did their black power salutes from an Olympic medal podium in Mexico City.

Mainstream America hated those and many other acts of protest in the name of equality and civil rights in the ’60s.

“Insulting Colin Kaepernick says more about our patriotism than his,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote on Twitter.

Regarding motive: What would Kaepernick have to gain by this?

It doesn’t help his standing with his team; the last thing anyone associated with the 49ers wants is a distraction of this magnitude on the brink of the season.

Distraction. Remember that word?

Another borderline NFL quarterback couldn’t get a job because of the distraction his personal beliefs were prone to cause. And now Tim Tebow is trying to play pro baseball.

Some say Kaepernick just craves attention.

Carpenter says he became more engaging with reporters a couple of weeks before camp started, even extending interview sessions.

When he expounded Sunday about why he is protesting he did a pretty good job. Even a former UH football player thought so.

“I was pleasantly surprised,” Dane Uperesa said. “He’s clearly been paying attention and given this some thought. Doesn’t seem to me to be an impulsive action to ruffle feathers. He’s brought attention to the matter whether I agree with the action or not.”

He said he will work to effect the change he said he wants. A good first step might be to accept the Alameda County Sheriff’s office invitation Monday to meet and “have an open dialogue.”

There’s no question that by taking a stand through not standing Colin Kaepernick has put himself in the hot seat.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.