As free agency kicked off the start of a new football season, the NFL sent a clear message to anyone paying attention:
Colin Kaepernick, you’re still not wanted.
Probably not ever.
Oh, and while we’re at it, it’s pretty clear the owners have every intention of clamping down on any other players who tries to carry on Kaepernick’s legacy.
Rattled by another big dip in the television ratings and an increasing number of empty seats, the league seems determined to banish peaceful protest from the playing field.
While it’s quite a stretch to say those trends are intimately related — injuries, bad games and poor showings by several of the league’s most popular teams were surely bigger factors in the waning popularity — the guys sitting on what remains an enormous cash cow aren’t taking any chances.