Colin Kaepernick has made national headlines with his decision to protest police brutality by sitting or kneeling during the national anthem, and the San Francisco 49ers have supported his right to speak his mind. Owner Jed York and the 49ers organization took things a step further today by announcing that, like Kaepernick, they will donate $1 million to two San Francisco-area organizations to fight racial and social inequality.
In a statement announcing the donation, York said:
“Today, I am committing that the 49ers Foundation will contribute $1 Million to the cause of improving racial and economic inequality and fostering communication and collaboration between law enforcement and the communities they serve here in the Bay Area.
We are partnering with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the San Francisco Foundation in this effort. We have chosen to work with these two organizations because they have proven track records of affecting change in the face of challenging problems and have the collective reach to make the greatest impact. Silicon Valley Community Foundation is the largest community foundation in the world, managing $7.3 billion in assets and more than 1,800 philanthropic funds globally. The San Francisco Foundation has served the people of the Bay Area since 1948, almost as long as the 49ers franchise. We are excited to work with these two renowned foundations over the coming months to develop a giving plan to help our community find unifying solutions to these pressing issues.”
This comes on the heels of Kaepernick’s jersey rising to the top of the sales chart in recent weeks and several other athletes, including perhaps the entire Seattle Seahawks roster, standing with the quarterback in protesting the national anthem.
