Stephen A. Smith said Colin Kaepernick's NFL career is over after the quarterback changed the location of his trial on Saturday at 30 minutes notice.
The 32-year-old quarterback was due to practice in front of representatives of 25 NFL teams at the Atlanta Falcons' headquarters in Flowery Branch, Georgia.
Kaepernick started a trend among American football players when he took a knee during the US national anthem in 2016 to protest at police brutality and social injustice.
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback hasn't played an NFL game in three years and filed a lawsuit claiming the league and owners conspired to keep him away.
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Kaepernick and the NFL agreed to a private workout in Flowery Branch, Georgia on Saturday that teams could attend with no media present.
But the 32-year-old decided to move the location to a high school one hour away after disagreeing with the NFL over a liability waiver and the lack of media presence.
ESPN analyst Smith accused Kaepernick of trying to "control the narrative" and said "he don't want to play".
Speaking on his own social media channels, Smith said: "Twenty five teams show up in Georgia at the Atlanta Falcons practice facility - state of the art facility, NFL personnel, equipment, video, everything, and what does Colin Kaepernick do? Colin Kaepernick wants to change the venue.
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"He don't want to play. He wants to be a martyr. Guess what? It ain't working this time.
"All of us believe that Colin Kaepernick would have showed out, and if he had showed out, I believe he would have had a job inside of two weeks.
"But it didn't happen, because he didn't show. He wanted to show up at a high school in Georgia, not an NFL facility and then YouTube it live."
Smith added: "You don't want to work. You just want to make noise and you want to control the narrative. It's over."
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Kaepernick addressed the media at Charles Drew High School in Riverdale after his workout and told the 32 NFL teams to "stop running".
"I've been ready for three years," he said. "I've been denied for three years. We all know why. I came out here today and showed it in front of everybody. We have nothing to hide.
"We're waiting for the 32 owners, the 32 teams, Roger Goodell, all of them to stop running, stop running from the truth, stop running from the people."
The NFL released a lengthy statement on Saturday night saying they were "disappointed" that Kaepernick didn't appear for his workout.
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But they added: "Colin's decision has no effect on his status in the League. He remains an unrestricted free agent eligible to sign with any club."
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