No NFL owner knows Colin Kaepernick as well as the 49ers’ Jed York. And though he was supportive of his former QB’s decision to kneel during the national anthem, he’s not on board with Kaepernick’s claims of collusion among owners.
"Obviously, there's the (grievance) that's going on, so it's hard for me to get into any details or really share my opinion, but I don't believe that there's base to that claim that he's being blackballed,” York said Thursday (via ESPN.com).
Since opting out of his deal with San Francisco this offseason, Kaepernick — who completed 1,011 of 1,692 passes for 12,271 yards and 72 touchdowns with 30 interceptions over six seasons with the 49ers — remains unsigned while numerous quarterbacks with inferior experience, stats and skill sets have found their way onto NFL rosters.
York and the Niners donated $1 million last year to causes Kaepernick supported. Most recently, just this week while at the NFL's fall owners meetings in New York, the Niners owner attended a special meeting with 13 current or former players, 11 owners and representatives from the league and the NFL Players Association.
"I think the more that you had owners and players together, not just me meeting with 49ers players but several owners meeting with players from different teams, and it's not about collective bargaining issues, it's not about workplace environment, it's really understanding where different people come from," York said. "You're seeing people who might not understand that firsthand and they're getting a much better perspective."
York said Thursday his support for Kaepernick has nothing to do with his politics, but instead he willingness to be open-minded.
“The more you can have conversation, the more you can actually see where other people are coming from, I think the more enlightened you can be. And for me, I am not the most left-wing person in the world. I realize people are trying to sort of paint me as that,” York said. “That's not my background politically and how I grew up, but I think a lot of these things are common-sense issues, and when you actually sit down and talk to people and you know where people are coming from, it's hard to not be sympathetic and empathetic."