Colin Kaepernick should take note.
The (retired?) San Francisco 49ers quarterback has become a household name for all of the wrong reasons, thanks to his insipid national anthem protests in 2016, but it’s his utter disdain for law enforcement that really left a lingering bad taste in the mouths of many fans.
From threatening police to supporting cop killers to just generally bad-mouthing law enforcement, Kaepernick has made it abundantly clear that he despises police with just about every fiber of his being. That hatred overflows despite those very same police maintaining the law, order and safety around the erstwhile quarterback and his loved ones.
It also can’t be overstated that Kaepernick has no real direct issue with police, apart from his perceived racial grievances and his own sense of self-righteousness — unlike the world’s top-ranked golfer.
Scottie Scheffler — who is actually atop his sport, unlike Kaepernick — actually had every right to be annoyed or peeved with police after the disastrous Friday morning he dealt with.
A quick bit of background: Scheffler was arrested en route to the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday. On his way to the second round of the PGA Championship, Scheffler encountered suffocating traffic due to a tragic pedestrian death earlier that morning near the golf course. While trying to navigate that traffic muck, a seeming bit of miscommunication between Scheffler and a police officer ultimately led to the star golfer’s arrest.
Breaking News: World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club. The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car,…
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
“World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police in handcuffs after a misunderstanding with traffic flow led to his attempt to drive past a police officer into Valhalla Golf Club,” ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported at the time of the incident.
Do you agree with Scheffler?
“The police officer attempted to attach himself to Scheffler’s car, and Scheffler then stopped his vehicle at the entrance to Valhalla. The police officer then began to scream at Scheffler to get out of the car.
“When Scheffler exited the vehicle, the officer shoved Scheffler against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs. He is now being detained in the back of a police car.”
Here is video that I took of Scheffler being arrested: https://t.co/8UPZKvPCCf pic.twitter.com/9Tbp2tyrJh
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) May 17, 2024
Due to the chaotic misunderstanding, Scheffler was actually booked (orange jumpsuit and all) before ultimately being released by Louisville Metro Police.
Again, this was all over a wild misunderstanding, and Scheffler could’ve launched into a Kaepernick-like tirade about the need for police reform.
Scheffler didn’t do that.
(And unlike Kaepernick, Scottie Scheffler has earned his notoriety, thanks to actually winning at the highest level in his sport. The best Kaepernick can claim is almost winning — or, in other words, losing — Super Bowl XLVII.)
Instead, the star golfer offered a magnanimous and gracious response that was a powerful reflection of Scheffler’s character.
While speaking to reporters after hitting 5-under 66 in the second round, Scheffler took the highest of high roads while discussing the genuinely rattling incident with the police.
OutKick’s Dan Zaksheske captured the poignant remarks, and you can watch them yourself below:
Scottie Scheffler was extremely complimentary of the police, despite being arrested on Friday morning. He said one officer even offered him a sandwich.
“I’m grateful that we have such strong police, and they’re our protectors out there.” pic.twitter.com/u0GkqYzMxy
— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) May 17, 2024
“Yeah, I was pretty rattled, to say the least,” the 27-year-old Scheffler said. “The officer that took me to the jail was very kind. He was great. We had a nice chat in the car that helped calm me down.
“And I was sitting there, kind of waiting to go in, and I asked him, ‘Hey, excuse me, can you just come hang out with me for a few minutes so I can calm down?’
“You know, I was never angry. I was just in shock. And I think my body was just — I was shaking the whole time. I was shaking for like an hour.”
Mind you, this harrowing incident happened just days after Scheffler became a new father for the first time.
“It was definitely a new feeling for me,” the star golfer continued. “And [the officer] came out, and we had a nice chat.”
Scheffler further elaborated that the officers in the jail also treated him well, and even joked about the incident once they realized who Scheffler was.
(On an aside, it’s a shame Scheffler didn’t bust out the line, “Don’t you know who I am?” the one time in history it actually may have been warranted.)
“I’m grateful that we have such strong police,” Scheffler added. “They’re our protectors out there.”
In a world full of Colin Kaepernicks out there, screaming “ACAB!” and “Defund the police!” while not thinking of the consequences, try and be a Scottie Scheffler. The world needs far more of the latter than the former.
