Colin Kaepernick Stands Up And Donates $1 Million To Charities To Help Communities In Need

Colin Kaepernick is putting his money where his mouth is. The football player who made the loudest statement by being silent has turned to a new avenue to bring awareness to his message. Kaepernick announced that he will donate the first $1 million that he earns this year to charities that help communities in need.

Kaepernick made the announcement at a press conference after San Francisco’s final preseason game with the San Diego Chargers, where the 49ers quarterback was booed.

“I’ve been very blessed to be in this position and to be able to make the kind of money I do,” Kaepernick said. “And I have to help these people. I have to help these communities. It’s not right that they’re not put in a position to succeed or given those opportunities to succeed.”

Colin explains his message.

Colin explains why he is donating $1 and how he spoke to Nate Boyer, a Green Beret who served in Afghanistan and then went on to make work his ass off to make the Seattle Seahawks as a long snapper (Read his incredible story here).

Colin on the military.

Kaepernick answers questions from the media and says he will continue to take a knee during the national anthem, but is not sure how long it will go on.

Here’s Colin’s complete press conference from Thursday night.

I really think that Kaepernick didn’t expect the backlash that he received after sitting down during the national anthem, and I honestly believe he does not hate the military or America. I just don’t think he expected the outrage and maybe didn’t think out his plan all the way through. To his credit though, his actions have started a dialogue. Also to his credit, he reached out to a respected man in the military to find out how he can change the way his message is received (If you haven’t read Boyer’s open letter to Kaepernick on Army Times, it is a good read).

“As far as taking a knee tonight, Eric [Reid] — as well as myself — had a long conversation with Nate Boyer, who is a military vet. And we were talking to him about, ‘How can we get the message back on track? And not take away from the military. … But keep the focus on what the issues really are.’ As we talked about it, we came up with taking a knee, because there are issues that still need to be addressed. And it was also a way to try to show more respect to the men and women that fight for this country.”

You have to appreciate that the man is giving up his own money to give to a cause he believes in. Hopefully this whole controversy evolves into a healthy discussion that leads to real change instead of the finger-pointing we have seen thus far.

When it comes to complex issues, it’s always a wise decision to listen to the great Bill Burr and he deconstructs things and transforms the discussion into much simpler and logical thoughts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLRZyBeuJDA

[CBSSports]