Colin Kaepernick Gets a New Job
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has a new job.
It’s just probably not the one his most ardent fans and supporters were hoping for.
Kaepernick, 32, has joined the board of directors for online publishing platform Medium, according to company CEO Evan Williams.
In a Thursday announcement on the official Medium blog, Williams said he “couldn’t be more happy to welcome Colin to Medium.”
“Today, we announce that civil rights activist and athlete Colin Kaepernick will be joining our Board of Directors. In addition to the board seat, Medium will partner with Colin and Kaepernick Publishing to create and feature stories focused on race and civil rights in America, and to elevate emerging voices from communities of color,” Williams said.
Williams noted that he had been wanting to work with Kaepernick ever since meeting him “a couple years ago.”
“He’s an incisive, independent thinker, whose integrity has inspired so many. The world needs more of that,” Williams said.
As Variety reported, Kaepernick is Medium’s “first non-white member of the board.” It’s also worth noting that Kaepernick has never held a notable job in the tech industry, unless throwing a football near Silicon Valley counts.
“I know he will bring valuable insights and leadership to Medium, especially in this moment when the world is finally catching up to his vision on racial justice,” Williams said.
As far as the type of content one can expect from Kaepernick on Medium, it’s more or less what we should expect from the outspoken activist.
“He will be sharing his thoughts on anti-Black racism in our society, and Medium and Kaepernick Publishing will co-publish thought-provoking feature stories from diverse writers of color,” Williams said.
Kaepernick Publishing, the former NFL star’s publishing company that aims to “inspire all generations of readers and listeners,” will also be working in partnership with Medium.
We’re excited to announce our founder, @kaepernick7, will be the newest Board Member @medium. In addition to this, #KaepernickPublishing partners with Medium to further our mission uplifting voices of our communities. pic.twitter.com/FQYYNdTQcP
— Kaepernick Publishing (@KaepernickPub) June 18, 2020
Notably, Kaepernick is still not employed by the NFL, although that could change soon.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expressed public support this week for a team signing the former dual-threat quarterback.
“But I welcome that, support a club making that decision and encourage them to do that,” Goodell said in an ESPN interview.
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn also spoke out in support of Kaepernick on Wednesday, according to ESPN.
“I haven’t spoken with Colin, not sure where he’s at as far as in his career, what he wants to do,” Lynn said.
“But Colin definitely fits the style of quarterback for the system that we’re going to be running. I’m very confident and happy with the three quarterbacks that I have, but you can never have too many people waiting on the runway.”
But perhaps the most surprising voice of support for Kaepernick getting rehired by the NFL came from President Donald Trump during an appearance on the Fox News show “Hannity.”
“If he has the ability, look, you know, he could only get it if he has the ability,” Trump said in an interview that aired Wednesday night. “They’re not going to lose games because of, you know, wanting to be politically correct or whatever term you make. I don’t know if that’s politically correct or the opposite.
“But if he has the ability, look, he was a great rookie and his second year was great. And then after that, he started going downhill rather rapidly. And then he was out of football and then he started suing everybody. And I think he made a lot more money doing that than he did with the football.”
Kaepernick became the center of controversy when he began kneeling during the national anthem prior to NFL games in 2016.
He last took an NFL snap on Jan. 1, 2017, in a 25-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
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