Miami Dolphin Kenny Stills is donating the $50,000 he received from the NFL in honor of his charitable work, to Colin Kaepernick’s foundation.
Stills was a runner-up to Philadelphia’s Chris Long for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Long won $250,000 for his favorite charity, and the 31 runners-up, one from each team, received $50,000.
Stills is a big admirer of Kaepernick who started the anthem-kneeling movement in 2016. While Kaepernick has been out of the league the last two years, Stills, and a few other players, have continued his anthem-kneeling movement.
The anthem-kneeling movement was started by Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49er QB, to protest police brutality and racial inequality.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way,” Kaepernick told NFL.com after the first game in which he sat for the national anthem in August, 2016. “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Players participation in the protest movement dwindled this year, but Stills, and teammate Albert Wilson, continued to support the cause and knelt during the anthem prior to 2018 Dolphins games. Wilson’s season ended on October 24 due to a hip injury, so Stills was the Dolphins lone kneeler the rest of the season. Teammate Robert Quinn raised his fist during the anthem.
Stills is a big proponent of a foundation Kaepernick started called the “Know Your Rights Camp,” described on their website as “a free campaign for youth founded by Colin Kaepernick to raise awareness on higher education, self empowerment, and instruction to properly interact with law enforcement in various scenarios.”
Stills hopes his $50,000 donation can help this initiative.
“I’m very appreciative of everything he has done for me and the support I’ve had from the Know Your Rights Camp and him himself and really all the fans out there supporting us and have our back,” Stills told the AP. “I’m here accepting a donation from the NFL and I’m excited to announce that I’ll be pushing that money into Know Your Rights Camp and trying to help with the causes they’re trying to help.”
Still also told the AP “it’s frustrating” Kaepernick has been out of the league the last two years.
Kaepernick is claiming that NFL owners have colluded to keep him out out of work, but Denver Broncos VP John Elway said he offered him a contract, but he turned it down.
“Colin had his chance here. We offered him a contract. He didn’t take it,” Elway said in August, 2018. “So, as I said it in my deposition, I don’t know if I’ll be legally able to say this, but he’s had his chance to be here. He passed [on] it.”
While Kaepernick has been out of the league, he’s been a vocal critic of the NFL, and praised singer Rihanna for turning down a chance to perform at the latest Super Bowl.
And Kaepernick also appreciates Stills continued support.