Cowboys and Kaepernick: ‘Too Much of a Distraction’ and Politics in Sports

Cowboys Chat discusses Colin Kaepernick and his fit (or lackthereof), how politics mix with sports, as well as little bit of Greg Hardy…

In Part 1 of Cowboys Chat we talked about how the Dallas Cowboys appear to be doing in free agency. We also discussed the Cowboys most concerning backup position – the quarterback. That conversation led into where we start in Part 2.

So would Colin Kaepernick make a good backup in Big D?

I feel very confident that Colin Kaepernick would be best served playing in Dallas. The only problem is I’m not convinced that Dallas would be best served with Kap.

Kap went from one of the brightest young stars in the league to one of the dimmest. He’s such a tale of two stories that he’s one of the most challenging players I’ve evaluated. He was once one of the best players on one of the best teams in the NFL. But as the team declined, so did Kap.

He’s never been good, or even average, at reading coverage so it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see him make some absolutely boneheaded decisions. But his decline in accuracy has been the most troubling.

Kap 1.0 (the good one) was able to hit those deep balls with precision. He could also hit the short check-downs. It was always the intermediate passes, which happens to be Dak Prescott’s bread and butter, that he’s always struggled with.

Kap 2.0 (the recent one)has struggled with accuracy everywhere. He’s looked so bad at times I’m not sure he could successfully have a game of catch on the sideline. His mechanics just went to garbage for some reason. He was mechanically sound once before so if he could reclaim that, he may be worth it, but if he’s unable to consistently deliver on check-downs, he’s not an ideal back-up option. But neither is Kellen Moore.

Check out my article, I think I did a fair breakdown.

But given his drama, would he be too much of a distraction?

I reject the “too much of a distraction” argument. Society and professional sports have used that as an excuse for cowardly behavior for too long. Whether it’s referring to race, sexual orientation, or whatever.

Sometimes doing the right thing just isn’t marketable. I’m not saying that’s even the case here. Say you don’t like him. You can say he stinks. Say he’s a bad teammate. Even say you hate the way you conducted himself last season and he’s unwelcomed. As a team, whatever you do – own it. Just don’t try to push the onus on the fanbase.

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So, then the Cowboys should have brought back Greg Hardy?

No way. Greg Hardy wasn’t only a dirt bag off the field but he was a cancer in the locker room. People may have said he was a distraction but really it was much more than that. To compare the two is apples and oranges.

Hardy did bad things everywhere. The charges may have been dropped but he still very clearly did bad things. He wasn’t brought back because the team just didn’t like him – on and off the field.

Hey, once again, I’m cool with ownership saying they hate how Kap disrespected our anthem therefore they will not sign him. I can accept that.

But for me, as long as a player isn’t getting suspended, I just prefer to focus on how players play on the field.

Next: RGIII as Backup QB in Dallas?

I’m a sportswriter. I don’t like to mix sports and politics. In fact, it’s my pet peeve when sportswriters get political. Is anyone really reading the sports page for a smug political comment? Of course not, yet it keeps happening for some reason. Sports are an escape from politics in many ways. I like to keep it that way.

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