I’ve got 6 on 7. After thinking about the Kaepernick settlement for a couple of days, I’ve got 6 key thoughts on my brother Colin (#7) and all that went down.

First of all, Kaep did not “sell out.”  His collusion case with the NFL and his advocacy on behalf of the Black community are two separate things.  The only thing he settled was essentially an employment case – that he was wrongfully being excluded from employment as a quarterback.  His activism predated that employment dispute and will live on long after.  He resolved his claims for lost earnings, but that has no impact on his message about the victimization of Black people by the police – and he will continue to speak on that issue.

There are bodies in the street and cops are getting paid leave and getting away with murder… I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. If they take football away, my endorsements from me — I know that I stood up for what is right.” – Colin Kaepernick

Kaepernick won.  Please be clear that the settlement reflects a win for Kaepernick.  He asserted that the NFL and its owners had colluded against him to keep him out of the NFL.  The NFL tried to get his case dismissed back in August – and lost – and now were facing an arbitration hearing by the end of February.  Most people estimate that Kaep’s settlement is north of $60 million, perhaps even $80 million.  Business people don’t write checks of that size easily.  Kaepernick is walking away with more than he would have earned over the past two years as a starting NFL quarterback and then some.  Money talks – and here its screaming “W – I – N“ for Kaep.

The owners were shook.  These owners have been tremendously successful by being smart, strategic and making good decisions.  Settling for tens of millions of dollars was not an accident, was not done altruistically, and was not random.  They wrote that check because they were scared of the alternative.  They were scared of the deposition testimony, they were scared of the emails, and they were scared of the potential verdict that loomed.  Do you think two dozen rich white men in their 70’s and 80’s handled questions under oath about race and class well?  Me neither.  They did not want those transcripts to see the light of day – so paid to have them buried.

Players are more empowered going forward.  Jim Brown, Curt Flood, Lew Alcindor, Muhammad Ali.  Add Kaepernick to the list of players who advanced the interests and rights of players to speak up, speak out and protect their economic interests.  With each voice, and the passage of time, new generations are more empowered than the last.  Kaep has advanced those interests, and the next player to speak out will have more freedom and flexibility because of him.

Kaep has established himself as a voice for our time and his activism will continue.  Kaepernick has shown a light on issues of social injustice and police brutality.  We’ve heard him, and society has heard him.  Initially his role as an NFL player heightened his platform, but he has now surpassed that.  Through his protest, media appearances, Nike commercials and the like, he has become a leading voice on the issues of inequality facing Black people in America.  And he’s not done.  To the contrary, I expect this is just the beginning and Kaep will emerge as one of the leading voices of our time.

Much of White America prefers silence to truth.  This whole episode started with the preference of many – owners, corporate sponsors, and mainstream society – to turn a blind eye to the realities of police killing unarmed Black men instead of acknowledging that truth.  They wanted to shut down Kaepernick , and attempt to shift the focus to patriotism, the flag and the military – none of which were ever at issue.  They preferred silence to the realities of Trayvon, Eric, Philando and others.  The cold piece is that over two years and at least $60 million later – that has not changed.  The reason all terms of the settlement are confidential is again because the owners wanted silence – not truth.

Kaepernick fought the good fight, got paid, and will continue to fight on the issues that matter the most.  Sounds like an MVP to me.