BALTIMORE (WBFF) - Morgan State University will honor former NFL star and political activist Colin Kaepernick with an honorary degree at its commencement ceremony Saturday.
A spokesman for the university said Kaepernick has been invited to attend the ceremony at Hughes Memorial Stadium on Morgan's Northeast Baltimore campus. The spokesman said the university should know by Friday whether he will attend.
The university said Kaepernick and two others -- education advocate David Burton and filmmaker David Talbert -- were selected for the degrees because they were "exemplary vanguards of social justice and the African-American experience."
“We are absolutely thrilled to bestow honorary degrees to David E. Talbert, David E. Burton and Colin Kaepernick for their individual, and collective, contributions to the progression of the Black narrative and pursuit of excellence,” Morgan President David Wilson said in a statement.
Talbert will deliver the commencement address. Burton is an alumnus of Morgan State.
Kaepernick is best known as the former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. In 2016, he began protesting police brutality during NFL games by kneeling during the national anthem. Some -- including former President Donald Trump -- criticized his protests as being disrespectful to the U.S. military. The NFL banned the practice in 2018, but NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell later apologized to Black players for how the league had handled the issue.
Kaepernick left the team in 2016 and has not been picked by another team in subsequent seasons. Kaepernick alleged that his on-field political statements caused the league to blackball him. At one point, the Baltimore Ravens considered him as a backup quarterback but did not sign Kaepernick.
Since leaving the league, Kaepernick has become an advocate for racial justice. Despite not being an active player, Kaepernick signed a lucrative deal with Nike, appearing in commercials for the athletic brand.
As recently as last month, Kaepernick has said he would like to return to the NFL.