One “high-ranking U.S. military official” counseled the Ravens against signing Colin Kaepernick last season, according to TMZ Sports.
Teams were and are still hesitant to sign Kaepernick, who drew national attention last season when he knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality against African Americans.
Coach John Harbaugh reportedly sought out advice about signing the free-agent quarterback since Joe Flacco was nursing a back injury last summer. One of the people Harbaugh asked was a high-ranking member of the U.S. military, according to TMZ Sports.
The military official told Harbaugh that Kaepernick’s controversial national anthem protests didn’t fall “in line with the team’s core values,” according to TMZ Sports. If the Ravens decided to sign Kaepernick, the unidentified official advised the front office to set a list of “specific guidelines” which would potentially restrict Kaepernick from kneeling during the anthem, according to the report.
ESPN reported last August that Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and Harbaugh were open to signing Kaepernick, but the team’s owner, Steve Bisciotti, had reportedly blocked the move.
Newsome called the claims “wrong” and denied blocking any moves on signing Kaepernick. He said, at the time, the team was still “going through a process.”
The Ravens decided not to sign Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to the playoffs in 2013, and ultimately Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost to the Ravens. They inked a deal with quarterback Thad Lewis, who hadn’t thrown a pass in the NFL in four years.
Follow me on Twitter: @madkenney
