What's Colin Kaepernick Doing Now?
NFL free agent helped ignite nationwide debate by kneeling during national anthem last season
Ryan Gajewski | September 26, 2017 @ 12:53 PM	Last Updated: September 26, 2017 @ 9:27 PM
The man who first took a knee to protest during the national anthem isn't on the sidelines anymore.
Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback who kicked off the NFL's national anthem protests last year when he first kneeled to protest racial injustice and police brutality against African Americans, has been a free agent since he and the San Francisco 49ers agreed to part ways in March 2017.
But the 29-year-old has remained active on social media, particularly in recent days as President Donald Trump has called on NFL teams to fire or suspend athletes who protest during the anthem, sparking a nationwide outcry over patriotism, protest and the politicization of sports.
Also Read: Jerry Jones Takes a Knee With His Team - Twitter Throws a Yellow Flag
But no other teams have signed the former University of Nevada standout who led the 49ers to the NFC Championship Game in 2014 — a fact that many commentators have blamed on his political activism as much as the fact that he lost his starting position heading into last season and the 49ers ended 2016 without a playoff berth for the third straight year.
So what is Kaepernick doing now, with the NFL season in full swing ahead of Week 4?
He has signed with AthletesSpeakers for paid public speaking gigs, charging between $45,000 and $75,000 per speech; the agency declined to say how many paid speeches he has given this year.
Also Read: Megyn Kelly Tackles Trump-NFL Drama Day After Saying She's 'Done With Politics' (Video)
But his main focus seems to be charitable endeavors and spreading his message of social activism, primarily through the Colin Kaepernick Foundation that he launched last year to help fight oppression.
He has announced that this year he plans to donate $1 million, plus proceeds from his 2016 jersey sales, to organizations that work with oppressed communities. So far, his website has annotated gifts totaling $900,000 to more than a dozen different charities.
Kaepernick fully funds the Know Your Rights Camp, a free campaign for youth to raise awareness of higher education, self-empowerment and proper interaction with law enforcement.
Also Read: Colbert to Trump: NFL Protest 'Has Everything to Do With Race, Just Like Your Presidency'
The athlete has also campaigned to send food, water and supplies to people in famine-plagued Somalia.
Even if he doesn't land with another NFL team anytime soon, Kaepernick clearly has a focus that goes beyond finding the end zone.
Kaepernick's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
22 'Rediculous' Typos From Trump's White House, From 'Attaker' to 'Unpresidented' (Photos)
You can't have "the best words" if you can't correctly spell them. Even more serious than the Trump administration's beef with CNN is its beef with grammar, as is evidenced by a score of tweets and official White House documents that are riddled with spelling errors, misused words and downright gibberish. Here are 21 of the worst (and most laughable) offenses.
"Innaccurately"
Oh, the irony! The White House tried to call out the Congressional Budget Office for inaccuracy but inaccurately spelled the word "innaccurately."
White House/Twitter
"Honered"
Before "covfefe," there was "honered." Of course, newly-inaugurated Trump meant to tweet that he was "honored," but that's not what happened.
"Unpresidented"
According to Huffington Post, Trump Twitter-slammed China for seizing a U.S. underwater drone in December 2016. He also made up a word in the process. By "unpresidented," we can assume he meant "unprecedented."
"San Bernadino"
The White House got a few things wrong with this list of "unreported" terror attacks. First, many of the incidents actually had been reported. Second, "San Bernardino" was spelled incorrectly.
"Attaker"
In the same report, the WH managed to misspell "attacker" 23 times in a row. That has to be some sort of record.
"W.E.B. DeBois"
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) botched the name of legendary civil rights activist, W.E.B. DuBois. It's DU Bois, as in "DU" they realize the epic mistake they made?
"Deepest apologizes"
Apparently, the DOE did catch the gaffe and subsequently tweeted out an apology… sort of.
Twitter/The Washington Post
"Columbia"
This is a common spelling error that also tripped up Steve Harvey in the past. For the record, when referring to the country, the correct spelling is "Colombia."
"Possibility of lasting peach"
According to a White House press release, one of Trump's objectives during his most recent visit to Israel was to "promote the possibility of lasting peach" between Israelis and Palestinians. Who needs peace when you can have peaches?
"Couple with changes"
Another typo from the same press release. This time, someone left off the "d" in the word "coupled." Hence, we have "A new approach, couple with changes."
"Councel"
After Trump tweeted this misspelling on May 18, Merriam-Webster reported that "councel" was their most-searched word of that day.
Twitter/The Hill
"Tapp"
President Obama did not "tapp" Trump's phone at any time during his two terms in office, because there is no such word as "tapp" in the English language.
Too vs. To
This was not a tweet. This was Donald Trump's official inauguration portrait... with an egregious typo printed front and center.
"Teresa May"
This mistake doesn't seem too critical… until you consider the fact that Teresa (sans "h") May is the name of a British porn star, not the British Prime Minister. The latter spells her first name with an "h."
White House/Huffington Post
"Hear by"
He should have typed "hereby." Of course, POTUS received a lot of flack for this one, among his many other botched spellings.
Twitter/Pro Publica
"Educatuon"
Failure took the form of a White House Snapchat on April 17. There's no excuse for this one.
White House/Snap
"Thr" and "Gas"
Trump displayed poor spelling in his attempt to shade two credible news outlets via Twitter.
"Amoung"
"Amoung," many other things, he will also not use spellcheck.
"Predisent"
This was a statement made by Trump's lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, in an official White House document.
"Rediculous"
Once again, Trump unleashes a grammatically incorrect Twitter rage at his arch nemesis, CNN.
Twitter/ProPublica
"Make American Great Again"
On August 4, Trump (or more likely one of his editors) botched his own campaign slogan. Is nothing sacred?!
donaldjtrump.com
If you thought those word gaffes were bad, check out this list of celebrity gibberish terms, including Trump's infamous "covfefe."
Also Read: 7 Gibberish Words That Have Outlived 'Covfefe' (Photos)
As Merriam-Webster so nicely put it, "heal (to become healthy again)
heel (a contemptible person)."
Welcome to the White House: where the words are made up, and spellcheck doesn't matter
Colin Kaepernick's Mom Has Perfect Response to Trump for 'Son of a B—h' Diss
By Umberto Gonzalez | September 23, 2017 @ 5:52 PM
Chris Rock Says Colin Kaepernick 'Shouldn't Be Denied the Right To Ever Play Again'
By Rosemary Rossi | September 17, 2017 @ 10:55 AM
Kid 'n Play's Christopher Reid (Finally) Explains That Whole Colin Kaepernick Costume Thing
By Tony Maglio | September 15, 2017 @ 6:21 AM
'Django Unchained' Clap Back by Girlfriend Cost Colin Kaepernick Baltimore Gig, Ray Lewis Says
By Tony Maglio | September 6, 2017 @ 1:41 PM
TheWrap latest coverage of sports media