Bomani Jones shoots down Shedeur Sanders-Colin Kaepernick comparison: ‘Ridiculous thing to say'

New York Post

29-04-2025

Shedeur Sanders' stunning NFL draft freefall had been chalked up to a number of reasons — but comparing it to Colin Kaepernick's blacklisting has rubbed some people the wrong way.
Bomani Jones is one of those people.
'To my colleagues who are making this a cause, you are embarrassing yourselves. You are playing yourselves,' Jones said in Monday's episode of 'The Right Time with Bomani Jones.'
3 Bomani Jones did not hold back on his thoughts surrounding the Shedeur Sanders and Colin Kaepernick comparison.
The Right Time with Bomani Jones
'Even if part of why he fell is that people didn't like him, he was going for a job where being liked is part of the deal. They did it wrong. That's all it comes down to. They did it wrong.'
While Kaepernick's and Sanders' situations can draw similarities from the fact that they both brought a sort of controversy and headache to a team that employs them, the former ESPN personality Jones says their situations can't be likened to one another.
'There are criticisms to be made of Colin Kaepernick, but he literally gave it all up in the name of a cause that was bigger than him. The only cause Shedeur Sanders has is himself,' Jones said. 'Don't you motherf–king dare act like those two things are the same. Do not.
'If your argument is, 'They wanted to show this outspoken black man his place,' No. 1, let us stop acting like outspoken and obnoxious are perfect synonyms. They are not,' Jones said.
3 Colin Kaepernick protested racial injustice leading up to his exit from the NFL.
Getty Images
'Show me something that Shedeur Sanders has spoken out about. Tell me what that thing is, tell me what his cause is. He is not outspoken. I have not seen any reason to call him outspoken,' he continued. 'Even if you think he has been treated unfairly, 'outspoken' is a stretch. And it is a ridiculous thing to say about him, I believe.'
NFL fans won't forget Kaepernick's exit from the league after protesting against police brutality and racial injustice in America by kneeling for the national anthem before games. He opted out of his contract with the 49ers in 2017 and was never picked up by another team.
Sanders was seen as a top quarterback prospect in the draft, yet fell all the way to the fifth round before being drafted by the Browns.
3 Shedeur Sanders tumbled to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
While many reports have noted that teams were displeased with Sanders' interviews and attitude in the pre-draft process, the complete clear lack of interest from 32 NFL franchises for four-plus rounds drew some comparisons to Kaepernick's ostracization.
'Have you lost the plot so badly? Look around you, the whole world is on fire.' Jones went on in his rant. 'Because the NFL told an apparently obnoxious young man that he wasn't good enough to be a starter? He wasn't good enough to be a starter.'