But to whom were those comments that he has a right to express himself directed?
The people denouncing Kaepernick’s kneeling or the owners?
To my knowledge, letting Kaepernick go or passing him by were based solely on his skill rather than his politics. He was benched for a majority of the season for an injury and let go because of poor ability to play. True, the owners may have, as the OP and many others have claimed, blackballed him but the expression isn’t that he should be rehired despite his politics; but rather formally told the truth for why he isn’t being hired.
According to the NFL, I believe they’re saying Kaepernick STILL is being passed up due to his per performance.
And since the NFL have since allowed their athletes the ability to formally protest, the situation appears moot in regards to whether or not Kaepernick’s protests actually cost him his career.
In short, it didn’t.
It would be more equivalent if the meme compared whether Trump would still be allowed on Facebook if he hasn’t lost the 2020 election. Of, course that’s not true at all. Trump broke their terms of agreement while Kaepernick did not.
This meme is a false equivalency.