This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.
It’s been years since the NFL ostracized Colin Kaepernick. He hasn’t taken a snap since 2016, which is the same time he began taking a knee during the national anthem in protest against police brutality in America.
READ MORE: A look back at what Kaepernick actually said back then
He’s been out of the league ever since. Kaepernick sued the league in 2019 for collusion and received an undisclosed settlement as a result of the case. That seemed like it might be the end of the story there.
But another door back into the league has officially opened for Kap if he wants to walk through it.
Jim Harbaugh has officially offered Kaepernick a coaching position on his staff with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to USA Today’s Jarrett Bell. The former Michigan head coach said he talked with Kaepernick about having him in Los Angeles as a coach in January. He said his former QB said he was considering it, but there hadn’t been any movement since.
“He’s considering it. He was out of the country,” Harbaugh told USA Today Sports. “He said he was going to get back to me. We haven’t reconnected since then. That was early, early in the year.”
Let’s be real — this probably isn’t going to happen. Kaepernick would probably be a great coach in the NFL, but he doesn’t want to coach. He still wants to play — even still after being eight years removed from the game at 36 years old. He said he wants back in the league as a QB, as he told Sky Sports in an interview last week.
“We’re still training, still pushing,” Kaepernick said. He’s not letting the rope go. Honestly, I can’t blame him.
The NFL shamefully exiled Kaepernick in 2016 for protesting systematic injustices against Black folks in America. He was on the right side of history — at least, according to the shift in the NFL’s tenor after that, anyway. He changed the way the league operates around race. It doesn’t go far enough in most cases, but considering where it’s coming from, the inches of progress made so far by the NFL can be directly attributed to Kaepernick’s knee.
Harbaugh’s gesture of offering him a coaching position seems like a genuine one. He described Kaepernick as a “hero,” and clearly has some admiration for his former QB and the stance he chose to take. He’s clearly someone he admires.
This probably isn’t the way back for Kaepernick, though. He wants back on that field. Honestly, with the way the Chargers backup QB room looks? There’s probably not much harm in giving him a shot.
Maybe you should consider that, Jim.
Charles Barkley: Man of the people?
Remember when Charles Barkley said he was retiring? Ah, yeah. Those were the days … two months ago.
Barkley flipped on that faster than 10 year old on a trampoline with that one. It only took him a couple months and the thought of losing $210 million to change his mind on that one.
But Barkely says the real reason he didn’t retire — and didn’t leave TNT — was because of the folks he keeps employed. Not because of the money.
He told Dan Le Batard that he left “a minimum” of $100 million on the table by staying put. Here’s Andrew Joseph with more:
“But for him, his top priority was keeping all the people employed whom he has worked with at TNT. He said: “As long as I got my people safe at TNT, man, I feel really good.”
He joked that he would actually have to do work had he gone to one of the other networks, so he was more than thrilled to stay at WBD (which still has March Madness, NHL and MLB playoff rights).”
That’s an awfully kind thing of Barkley to say. I’m not sure if I quite believe it all the way — again, he’s in the middle of a 10-year, $210 million deal with Turner and Warner Bros. Discovery. Walking away from that is not easy.
But, yes, him being around does keep a lot of the little people employed at the network. And, in the end, that’s a good thing. So, thanks, Chuck. You’re too kind.
Running on a broken leg
You thought Noah Lyles winning a bronze medal with COVID-19 was impressive? Try running with a broken leg.
That doesn’t even sound possible. Yet, that’s exactly what Rose Harvey of Great Britain did in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Charles Curtis writes:
“Rose Harvey of Great Britain finished 78th in the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s marathon event with a time of 2:51:03, but it turned out there was a reason she wasn’t a contender, and it’s the best reason you can have.
It turns out she ran on a broken leg. Seriously.
In an Instagram post, she had this to say: “A couple of miles in, I quickly realised that wasn’t going to happen. The next 24 miles were a painful battle. It turns out I had stress fractured my femur.”
Why did she continue? Because it was the Olympics.”
… WHAT?!?!? Running on a broken leg is wild, man. Here’s the full Instagram post.
Salute to Rose Harvey. She may not have medaled, but she’s a winner in my book.
Quick hits: Winning is getting expensive …
— Bettors in high tax states won’t be charged for a percentage of their winnings, Prince Grimes writes, but FanDuel and DraftKings are still finding ways to make bettors foot their bills.
— Here’s Blake Schuster with rookie rankings for fantasy football this year.
— What an awful call from this Guardians announcer. Be better. Charles Curtis has more.
— Here’s Christian D’Andrea on whether the Daniel Jones can lead the Giants to another low expectations miracle.
— Robert Zeglinski has his annual watchability rankings for the NFL together for you.
— Caitlin Clark is playing it coy about whether she’ll jump in on the new 3×3 Unrivaled league.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you. Let’s do this again tomorrow. Peace!
-Sykes ✌️
