On April 29, Common Dreams’ Brett Wilkins reported that Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump “said that former NFL quarterback and racial justice activist Colin Kaepernick will pay for an independent autopsy for Lashawn Thompson, a mentally ill man who died last September in a filthy, insect-infested cell in an overcrowded Atlanta jail.”
The Thompson case is all too typical: According to Wilkins “Thompson, who suffered from mental health issues, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and transferred to the jail's psychiatric wing. According to jail records, on September 13 an officer saw Thompson slumped over in his cell, which was so dirty that a staff member who entered it wore protective gear. Inside, Thompson lay dead with his eyes open, his body covered with what Crump said were over 1,000 insect bites. Thompson was 35 years old.”
“An official autopsy could not determine the cause of Thompson's death but noted an ‘extremely severe’ insect infestation on his body” Wilkins noted. And that is where Kaepernick stepped in.
Ten years ago Colin Kaepernick made headlines for leading his team to Super Bowl XLVII, which unfortunately the 49ers lost due to a few awful fourth quarter Red Zone coaching calls. In 2016, Kaepernick became a household name when he knelt during the national anthem at the start of NFL games, to protest police brutality and racial inequality in the United States. That same year, he and his partner Nessa founded the "Know Your Rights Camp," an organization that holds free seminars for disadvantaged youths, teaching them about American history, self-empowerment and their legal rights.
Soon Kaepernick was out of the NFL for good.
By August 2017, the statistics website FiveThirtyEight concluded that "it's obvious Kaepernick is being frozen out for his political opinions", calling it "extraordinary... that a player like him can't find a team", based on the observation that "no above-average quarterback [measured by the total quarterback rating] has been unemployed nearly as long as Kaepernick this offseason."
Since that time, he has received few tryouts, and even fewer phone calls from NFL teams. Kaepernick has been effectively disappeared by the NFL.
Although no longer playing football, his presence was definitely felt in NFL stadiums after the police murder of George Floyd in 2020.
And now, he’s making headlines for his ongoing activism against racial inequality and police brutality.
CBS News recently reported that “Kaepernick launched an initiative in 2022 to help families with free, secondary autopsies through his Know Your Rights Camp organization. The initiative collaborates with a panel of board-certified forensic pathologists who perform autopsies, disclose preliminary findings and issue final reports to requesting families.”
At the time of its launching Kaepernick said; "We know that the prison industrial complex, which includes police and policing, strives to protect and serve its interests at all costs. The Autopsy Initiative is one important step toward ensuring that family members have access to accurate and forensically verifiable information about the cause of death of their loved one in their time of need."
Dr. Cyril Wecht, pathology coordinator, said: "I am extremely enthusiastic about this truly unique program. The opportunity to have unbiased second autopsies performed by independent, experienced forensic pathologists in police-related deaths will provide victims' families with knowledge that the true facts of any such case have been thoroughly analyzed and prepared for appropriate utilization whenever deemed necessary."
Coincidentally, the Autopsy Initiative’s announcement of a secondary autopsy for Thompson came just days after the death of Harry Belafante, the racial justice activist and brilliant entertainer, who had often professed his support for Kaepernick.
Commenting on Kaepernick’s actions Belafonte stated: “Historically, those who benefit from the oppression of others have always tried to silence dissent. When a black person raises their voice in protest against oppression, those who are complicit in that oppression are often the first to criticize. Kaepernick’s efforts are commendable.”