On the evening of Tuesday, November 27th, linebacker Reuben Foster was claimed off waivers by the Washington Redskins. Mere days earlier he’d been let go by the San Francisco 49ers after being arrested and charged with domestic violence while traveling with the team to Florida. It was Foster’s second arrest for domestic violence (charges were dropped the first time), and the third arrest of 2018.
Washington was the only team to put in a waiver claim for former 49ers’ LB Reuben Foster, who was arrested Saturday night on a domestic violence charge, per source. No other NFL team put in a waiver claim on Foster.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 27, 2018
The situation becomes even more puzzling when viewed in sequence with the fact that this is the same Washington team that refused to sign free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick less than a week earlier following the horrific injury sustained by Alex Smith.
Kaepernick knelt in non-violent protest and Foster physically harmed several women. Which one do you think should still have a job?
Reuben Foster has been arrested three times in 2018 and was suspended for two games to begin the NFL season.
Less than 72 hours after being arrested on domestic violence charges and waived, a team claimed him on waivers, possibly to have him play right away.
Give me a break.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 27, 2018
As it currently stands, the NFL’s personal conduct policy states that a first-time offense of domestic violence will result in a six-game suspension without pay. And despite other instances of domestic violence since its inception, a six-game suspension has only been enforced once, with Ezekiel Elliott. A second offense will result in a permanent banishment from the NFL — with the term “permanent” used very, very loosely. A second-time offender who has been banished “may petition for reinstatement after one year.” The common saying goes that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. But the NFL isn’t insane — it’s simply ruthless.
Should Kaepernick have a job in the NFL right now? Probably. And the fact that a man like Reuben Foster can be employed while Kaepernick sits at home is just a clear reminder of what the NFL really thinks the former quarterback.
