Adidas is reportedly looking to sign free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick... if he's able to land a deal with an NFL team.
According to reports, Mark King, president of Adidas' North America division, spoke about the possibility of signing Kaepernick during a Q&A session with Kenneth L. Shropshire, CEO of Arizona State University’s Global Sport Institute, at the school’s Global Sport Summit. King was careful to note that Adidas isn't merely looking to take "advantage of this noise or interest that he [Kaepernick] had generated,” adding, “If he signs on a team, we would definitely want to sign him.”
“We love athletes that have a platform to make the world a better place,” King said. “If they’re an activist in a way that brings attention to something that moves the world forward, even if there’s controversy at that moment, we’re really interested in those athletes because I think it represents the world today.”
“We’re not in the business of activism, we’re in the business of sport, " Kings said. "But allowing our athletes to tell their story, it’s really important to us.”
Kaepernick was deposed last week as part of his ongoing collusion case against the NFL, according to reports, and the case could be decided by the end of this year. Today, Kaepernick is in New York as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is scheduled to be deposed.
The 30-year old free agent was recently scheduled to workout for the Seattle Seahawks but the meeting was reportedly postponed when Kaepernick declined to stop kneeling for the national anthem next season. No NFL team has worked out Kaepernick since he became a free agent after the 2016 season.