Colin Kaepernick Forms SPAC, Will Target Businesses with Eye on Social Impact

Originally published by Joseph Zucker, Bleacher Report

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick helped form a special purpose-acquisition company that will seek to “invest in and grow a business in a way that delivers a significant impact financially, culturally and socially.”

Mission Advancement Corp. made a formal filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, listing Kaepernick as the co-chairman.

MarketWatch’s Mike Murphy explained how special purpose-acquisition companies (SPACs) are “essentially empty-shell companies that look for a company to acquire and take public.”

Mission Advancement explained why it identified Kaepernick for an important role within the organization:

“We believe Mr. Kaepernick’s substantial business experience combined with his long-term leadership on racial equity and justice issues will support our success in identifying a prospective target company and adding transformational value to the combined entity. His experience, global marketability, massive audience and ability to positively impact culture have led to the formation of strategic and public partnerships with multiple global brands over the past ten years, including, among others, Nike, Disney, Netflix, Beats by Dre, Medium, Electronic Arts, Audible, and Ben & Jerry’s.”

Per Murphy, Mission Advancement’s board members are Black, Indigenous or people of color. A majority of the board members are also women.

Kaepernick hasn’t stepped onto an NFL field since 2016, his last year with the 49ers. During that season, he chose to kneel during the national anthem to draw attention to police brutality and racial inequality.

Many fans believe NFL owners colluded to keep the 33-year-old out of the league because of his social activism. He filed a grievance to that effect in October 2017, and the matter was settled in February 2019.

Last summer, the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor sparked anti-racism protests across the country. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted in June the league was “wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier” but didn’t identify Kaepernick by name.

The Washington Post looked into a pair of studies and found Kaepernick’s 2016 protests and general activism had motivated Black Americans “to either get engaged or remain involved in political activities, and has helped sustain a national movement aimed at undoing racial injustice.”