Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick spoke to USA Today’s Jarrett Bell on a variety of topics.
The 32-year-old activist has not played in the NFL or professionally since 2016 following his decision to take a knee during national anthems to protest police brutality against African Americans and other social injustices by kneeling during the national anthem. He will release his as-yet untitled memoir next year.
“I learned early on that in fighting against systematic oppression, dehumanization and colonization, who controls the narrative shapes the reality of how the world views society,” Kaepernick said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports. “It controls who’s loved, who’s hated, who’s degraded and who’s celebrated.”
The book will be released by Kaepernick Publishing, a newly formed company.
The quarterback, who led the Niners to Super Bowl XLVII after the 2012 season, hopes his company will create opportunities for black and brown writers, authors and creators to control their narratives and retain ownership, per USAT.
“It’s not just my control over stories,” Kaepernick said. “We wanted to be able to put the power back into the hands of the people that are telling the stories and the people that are writing the stories and creating them. We didn’t want to monopolize that and hold that to ourselves. It’s something that should be distributed to the people who are putting in the work to be able to tell their stories and tell them in a genuine and authentic way.”
Kaepernick chose to publish through his own company rather than to shop his memoir, which could have drawn seven figures from the publishing market. When asked if he thought the book would be a bestseller, Kaepernick said, “I hope so,” with a laugh.
To read Bell’s entire interview with Kaepernick, click here.