Colin Kaepernick, Donald Trump have same odds to win Time's Person of the Year
Time magazine announced its short list of 2017 Person of the Year finalists on Monday, and among them is Colin Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback whose protest of social injustice during the national anthem last season garnered national attention and arguably cost him his job.
Kaepernick is joined on the list of 10 finalists by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President XI Jinping, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Dreamers and the #MeToo movement participants.
Kaepernick and Trump are tied at 4-to-1 for the second-best odds, per gambling website Bovada. The #MeToo movement, which includes victims of sexual harassment who have shared their stories, is the 3-to-1 odds-on favorite to win Time’s annual honor. Here are Bovada’s odds for the top-five finalists:
#MeToo: +300
Kaepernick: +400
Trump: +400
Mohammed bin Salman: +700
Kim Jong Un: +900
The Kaepernick/Trump dynamic is especially interesting, since the two have found themselves at odds over the past 15 months. The ex-Niners QB has called the president “a proven liar” “who’s openly racist,” and Trump has boasted that he’s the reason Kaepernick is unemployed, saying “he should find a country that works better for him” and referring to protesters like him as “sons of bitches.”
Trump, of course, spent his Thanksgiving claiming that he should win the award:
Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017
By contrast, Kaepernick declined an interview request upon winning GQ magazine’s Citizen of the Year honor earlier this month, and he accepted the ACLU’s Courageous Advocate Award at the annual “Bill of Rights Dinner” on Sunday night.
This is your annual reminder that “winning” Person of the Year isn’t always a badge of honor, since it is merely a title given to “the person or group of people who most influenced the news during the past year, for better or worse.” Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were named Person of the Year in 1938 and 1939, respectively. Trump was named 2016 Person of the Year. “The Protester” won in 2011.
No athlete has ever received Time’s Person of the Year honor.
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