NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre has compared Colin Kaepernick and his legacy off the football field to that of former All-Pro Pat Tillman.
For context, Tillman left the NFL in 2002 to go serve in the U.S. Army, this coming on the heels of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Tillman was killed in combat by friendly-fire in 2004.
Kaepernick has been a huge advocate for racial justice and bringing an end to police brutality in the United States. “I can only think of –– right off the top of my head –– Pat Tillman’s another guy who did something similar, and we regard him as a hero,” he told TMZ Sports. “So I’d assume that hero status will be stamped with Kaepernick as well. … It’s not easy for a guy his age –– black or white, Hispanic, whatever –– to stop something that you’ve always dreamed of doing and put it on hold, maybe forever, for something that you believe in.”
Favre noted that he feels that Kaepernick deserves an opportunity to play, citing that he probably has not lost much of a step despite his time away from the game. “I think from a football sense, I can’t imagine him being that far out of shape or that far out of touch with football that he doesn’t deserve a shot,” he said. “He’s still young and hasn’t been hit in several years, so there’s no reason to think that he’s lost that much of a step.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on June 15 that he has beenencouraging teams to sign the 32-year-old Kaepernick and if he goes unsigned, Goodell would bring in the quarterback to help the league in various social issues.
