A certain Bay Area athlete, perhaps you’ve heard of Colin Kaepernick, has been in a bit of hot water lately.
Or maybe he’s in no trouble at all. This is the nature of incident reports — something, or nothing, may be wrong.
Kaepernick was named in along with two other NFL players. After a woman went to their Miami apartment to drink one night, she woke up the next morning in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It just so happens that Kaepernick is also in line for a massive pay raise on the 49ers. His representatives are discussing details on a long-term deal for the young quarterback.
It’s hard to think of a job other than professional athlete – perhaps congressman – where one can be named in an official police report with no consequences from their employer.
Yes, Kaepernick is not in any actual legal trouble – he’s merely been named in a report.
But if I, a 20-year-old college student, was named in an official police report, I’d take the overbet on being fired or put on temporary leave at best.
And Kaepernick is tame by National Football League standards. No fewer than four players on the 49ers have run into legal trouble this offseason, all of whom will see higher one-year salaries this year than I ever will.
We are all supposed to be created equal in this country, but when it comes to being judged for our transgressions, we most certainly are not.
Matt Murphy can be reached at [email protected] or @matthewcharlesz on Twitter.
