Colin Kaepernick joins board of directors at Medium

Athlete and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick is joining the board of directors at Medium, the company announced Thursday. 

Medium will also partner with Kaepernick’s publishing company, founded by the athlete in 2019, to “elevate emerging voices from communities of color,” Medium CEO Ev Williams said in the announcement. 

“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. 

“I couldn’t be more happy to welcome Colin to Medium. He’s an incisive, independent thinker, whose integrity has inspired so many. The world needs more of that,” he added 

Kaepernick was a quarterback on the San Francisco 49ers when he started to lead peaceful demonstrations in 2016 by taking a knee during the national anthem at games to protest police brutality. 

Following that season, Kaepernick became a free agent and has gone unsigned since. 

His protests grew, however, with athletes across sports following his lead by demonstrating during the national anthem at games. 

Amid nationwide protests over police brutality, sparked by the killing of George Floyd, players have continued demonstrating by taking a knee during games. Last week, U.S. Soccer’s board of directors voted to end the league’s ban on kneeling during the national anthem. 

Players during a Premier League soccer match took a knee on Wednesday. The demonstration has also stretched beyond professional sports. Baseball players at a high school in Des Moines, Iowa, reportedly took a knee during the national anthem during a game earlier this week.