David Stern: “I Would’ve Suspended Kaepernick” After Anthem Protests & “Saved” His Career

Colin Kaepernick #7 of the San Francisco 49ers (Image: Getty)

There’re not many David Stern fans. During his time as NBA commissioner, he somehow attracted malice from every fan base. Now, he’s set his sights to the NFL as well.

Stern Dishes On Kaep

On the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast, Stern blundered his take on the Colin Kaepernick situation and the NFL. He began his argument by saying that as commissioner he tried to “promote our players and show that they were real people.” Then, he said that if he ran the NFL he would’ve simply suspended Kaepernick when he first began kneeling and that the move would’ve saved his career.

During the 1995-96, when Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf sat for the national anthem, Stern suspended him for one game and fined him $32,000. Once he agreed to stand for the anthem while bowing his head, he was allowed to return. However, unlike Stern’s claims, the suspension didn’t save Abdul-Rauf’s career. If anything, all it did was insult his choice made for religious beliefs. He was left on an island and soon left out of a job. Despite being Denver’s leading scorer, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings that summer. Two years later, at 29 years old, he was out of the league.

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This is classic Stern. Not only did he blunder the situation but he managed to aggravate everyone involved. He rallied up the anti- Kaepernick crowd by saying that he would’ve saved his career. On the much larger pro-Kaepernick crowd, he aggravated them by saying he would’ve suppressed his statement. Even after his career as commissioner ended, somehow Stern is still managing to make blunders.

When previously asked why the NBA felt that it had to enforce a stand-for-the-anthem rule, Stern said, “It was our minimal standard — when you come out on the court, please stand at attention — because the N.B.A. has always been something of a social cause, these great black athletes trying to work their way in what back in the day could be a hostile white environment.”