On one hand, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has not been, and may never be, accused of wrongdoing. On the other hand, he’s listed in a police incident report along with two other NFL players as a “suspect.” And a woman claims she blacked out after allegedly drinking and smoking marijuana in an apartment with Kaepernick and those two other NFL players, kissing Kaepernick in a bedroom, having her clothing removed by Kaepernick, and getting into bed. She then woke up in a hospital.
Whatever the explanation — and there’s a chance the intervening events involving Kaepernick, Quinton Patton, and Ricardo Lockette could serve as the plot for a cross between The Three Stooges, Fargo, and Pineapple Express — Kaepernick got himself too close to the proverbial line at a time when he’s trying to break the $20 million annual barrier.
While not the first franchise quarterback to compromise the franchise’s interests via involvement in unseemly activities (cough, Ben Roethlisberger, cough), Kaepernick is the first to do it before finagling a grandkids-won’t-have-to-work contract. And that could make it harder for Kaepernick to cash in to the extent he wants.
It’s not about right or wrong. It’s about avoiding any situation in which an accusation can be made, right or wrong, that wrong happened. It’s the kind of situation in which active franchise quarterbacks not named Roethlisberger (e.g., Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and Russell Wilson) most likely will never find themselves.
Depending on how it all plays out, the incident could impact Kaepernick’s strong-to-quite-strong off-field portfolio. Regardless of whether anything else happens, the classic American tale of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back doesn’t mesh seamlessly with boy and friends get girl drunk and/or high, girl gets lightheaded, boy kisses girl and disrobes her, boy leaves room, girl passes out, girl wakes up in hospital.
We never may know anything more about what happened. Already, the 49ers may know enough to at least be a little more leery about giving Kaepernick the keys to the vault at the Field of Jeans.