It looks like Colin Kaepernick will not be playing for the Baltimore Ravens as a back-up quarterback, despite Ray Lewis’ speaking on Kaepernick’s behalf. Lewis was formerly a linebacker for the team, and had been speaking with owner Steve Bisciotti about signing the controversial quarterback.
Lewis attributes the failure to sign on a tweet from Kaepernick’s girlfriend Ness Diab, which compared Bisciotti to Leonardo DiCaprio’s slave owner and Lewis to his owner-loving slave played by Samuel L. Jackson. Lewis discussed the tweet on Tuesday’s “Inside the NFL,” the Daily Wire reported. He also noted that had Diab not sent the tweet, Bisciotti would be “flying [Kaepernick] to Baltimore. … I am sitting with all three of them and we are all having a conversation about bringing Colin Kaepernick in.”
Lewis and Bisciotti have both approached the decision from a prayerful perspective. In discussing signing Kaepernick, before Diab sent the tweet, Bisciotti said “Pray for us” about the decision, ESPN noted.
Throughout the process of Kaepernick trying to get signed, Lewis has remained a Godly man. On August 1, two days before Diab’s tweet, he tweeted a video message about how amidst all the discussion of Kaepernick, he prays for him. “Let me tell you something, brother, I pray for you more than you can ever imagine,” Lewis said. “Your name is in my Bible, that God gives you the vision… I applaud you for the things that you stood up for.”
Lewis also had a message for Kaepernick about speaking on his own behalf, while relating about his own life:
Everyone else can speak for you, but until you speak for yourself, and demand what you want to do in life, it’s totally on you, but it’s almost crazy that you see people always trying to respond… I’ve made mistakes in my life, but I promise you, if you look at my track record, the mistakes I’ve made I never repeated twice.
Despite a murder trial, Lewis went on to win multiple Super Bowls with the Baltimore Ravens. He has also been open about his faith, which was profiled for a Sports Illustrated cover story in 2006.
His message also emphasized that Lewis doesn’t have “anything against” Kaepernick, saying “I wish you the best in life. I hope you chase whatever God got for you to chase,” as he emphasized he applauded Kaepernick for standing up for his beliefs.
Lewis closed by noting that if people want to help, “they will pray for you. They’ll lead you the right way, and stop encouraging you to get caught up in some of this nonsense.”
“The football field is our sanctuary,” Lewis said, “and if you do nothing else, young man, get back on that field, and let your play speak for itself. And what you do off the field, don’t let too many people know, because they’re going to judge you anyway, no matter what you do…”
brotherhood – we are in this together pic.twitter.com/Q3HpPA0uqr
— Ray Lewis (@raylewis) August 1, 2017
Lewis closed his message by calling Kaepernick his “brother for life” and reminding him that he has support from many.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh on Wednesday said he is “way past that,” with his focus on playing Cincinnati. He said he hasn’t “even thought about that for weeks.”