Free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick announced on Thursday that he is writing a memoir which will outline the "political awakening" that led to his expulsion from the NFL.
"Part political awakening and part memoir, Kaepernick's memoir will reveal the life experiences that led him to risk his career as a star NFL Super Bowl quarterback in one silent act of protest", a press release from Kaepernick's publisher said.
"My protest was the culmination of years of thought and experiences, of learning and unlearning", Kaepernick said in the release. "I want to tell the story of my evolution, and the events that led me to protest systemic oppression, in hopes that it will inspire others to rise in action".
According to The Washington Post, the book is expected to be released this fall, while financial terms for the author and publisher have not been announced.
Audible, Amazon's audio book service, will concurrently release a spoken-word version of the athlete's memoir, as well as partnering with his new publishing house on later projects.
Kaepernick Publishing, the author's branded media company, was launched with the intended goal of empowering writers who do not otherwise have the resources to see their stories told. Kaepernick states that he chose to go independent after refusing a lucrative book deal from a high-profile publisher.
"It's not just my control over stories,' Kaepernick told USA Today, "we wanted to be able to put the power back into the hands of the people that are telling the stories and the people that are writing the stories and creating them".
"We didn't want to monopolize that and hold that to ourselves. It's something that should be distributed to the people who are putting in the work to be able to tell their stories and tell them in a genuine and authentic way".
Kaepernick initiated a the controversial protest as a member of the San Francisco 49ers during the 2016 season, following increasing numbers of killings of young African-American men by police.
The protests involved the star, and many others who chose to follow suit, kneeling during the US national anthem at the beginnings of games during what turned out to be his final year in the NFL.
The protests inspired many other pro athletes and spectators as well, who conducted various forms of silent protests throughout the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and into 2019.
Aside from the large numbers of supporters for his actions, Kaepernick's quiet protest was also met with a barrage of criticism, including tweets from US President Donald Trump, for what some considered to be an act of disrespect toward a national custom.
