The Washington Post published a story on Colin Kaepernick at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California this week.
Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to a Super Bowl loss in 2013, has been out of the league since 2016. But he remains a story - at least in the eyes of the Washington Post. The outlet published a story on Kaepernick and his impact around the league heading into the Super Bowl.
"What do we make of Colin Kaepernick now?" the headline of the story reads.
"The Super Bowl is being played in his former home stadium, at a societal moment that echoes the issues he forced football fans to confront. So why is he out of mind?"
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The story discusses Kaepernick and how those around the league feel about him now.
"The most relevant figure to Super Bowl LX is absent from it. The game will be played in his former home stadium, in the place where his protest made him a national lightning rod and a global symbol. The social issues swirling around America’s largest sporting spectacle carry distinct echoes of what prompted his actions and what led to his exile. And yet he remains outside the conversation and invisible within the confines of the NFL," the story reads.
"Colin Kaepernick might as well be a ghost."
The outlet is facing blowback on social media, though
"If you happened to be wondering why WaPo is going under and its sports section is no more, this pièce de résistance (and many more like it) is the answer," one fan wrote.
"Nice to see the layoffs have not driven those who remain to even the slightest degree of self-reflection. It really would be a shame to turn the ship around when you’ve come so far & spent so long steering its credibility directly into the abyss," one fan added.
"2.7M views and less than 400 likes at time of this post. Great job WAPO. Really crushing it," one fan added.
"In case anyone was wondering why WaPo sports is extinct," one fan added.
It's been a rough week for the Washington Post, with the sports section being laid off, and now critics dancing on the grave on social media.