Darrell Moody: Surprised by Kaepernick’s decision

Like Chris Ault, I’ll admit I was shocked about Colin Kaepernick’s decision to sit during the national anthem.

I always found Colin to be a stand-up guy during my tenure covering Nevada football. He was easy to talk to, and never once saw him be surly with the media.

Of course when you win the bulk of the time like he did at Nevada, you’re going to be in a good mood. When Nevada did lose, he, more often than not, took the blame.

People forget Kaepernick is well within his right to protest anything he deems unfair. Isn’t that the American way? Isn’t free speech what our founding fathers wanted us to have?

People don’t like the platform he used. I’m thinking Kaepernick did it this way to draw more attention to what he was doing.

Has Kaepernick been hiding this attitude ever since he was at Nevada? Was it just because of recent issues? Let’s face it, there has been a race issue in this country for as long as I can remember, so is “Kap” just coming to the party a bit late?

I dutifully stand for the national anthem at ballgames I attend, whether as a fan or a reporter representing the Appeal, but I wonder why it’s necessary.

I also wonder why students say the pledge of allegiance every day at school or why Bishop Manogue does a prayer before every home game.

Knowing Ault as I do, Kaepernick probably would have gotten a heavy handed lecture if he had done that at Nevada.

With his career spiraling downward, I would think he would worry more about being a better NFL quarterback. He is one of the most athletic quarterbacks in the game today, but he is going backwards instead of forward.

I blame some of that on the 49ers’ offensive system. Kaepernick’s ability to run was used less and less. Granted teams made some good adjustments, but if I had a guy like Kaepernick, I throw more on the run where there’s always the threat of a keeper. He isn’t a pocket passer, he never has been.

Kaepernick is making $11 million this year, and that’s a lot of money to pay for a player not on your roster which is why I think Kaepernick will stay on the roster.

•••

Asa Carter, two-time Player of the Year at Carson High School, is off to a quick start with Southwest Baptist University.

“Asa is doing great,” said head coach Robert Clardy. “He has come in and competed right away for our starting strong safety position on defense. He will definitely play this season in all of the special teams and help on defense as well.

“I’ve seen him open up a lot in the past two weeks and build relationships with a lot of players. Very excited to see what he can accomplish on the field this year.”

•••

I received a call regarding my recent column about Ryan Lochte. I said the USOC pays $25,000 per gold medal. It’s actually the national Olympic federation for that sport, not the USOC, that pays for a gold medal.

U.S. athletes are, however, paid $25,000 in cash for a gold medal which the caller in question disputed. The gold medal itself is worth about $600 in value. It’s made up of 1 percent actual gold, 92.5 silver and 6.16 copper.

Some countries pay athletes if they win silver or bronze. Russia, for example, pays $180,000 for gold, $90,000 for a silver and $45,000 for bronze.