Colin Kaepernick says taking a knee was ‘absolutely worth it’

Colin Kaepernick hasn’t thrown an NFL pass in nearly over a decade, but let him tell it, he has no regrets.

“Thinking about whether or not it’s worth it: if even one life was saved, one life was advanced, it’ll be absolutely worth it every day of the week,” Kaepernick said, describing his commitment to social justice.

The former NFL quarterback added, “I think that’s incredibly important as we think about our future. We have to be able to do whatever it takes to make sure that we’re advancing our communities, advancing our students, and making sure that we are setting each other up for success in the future.”

Kaepernick, 38, is now using his platform to support future community leaders through the launch of an artificial intelligence-fueled pilot program for youth in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

The partnership between Lumi, Kaepernick’s tool that brings reading and writing to life through AI, and Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) is helping students interested in storytelling engage with AI characters.

Kaepernick uses AI tool to teach students to monetize their stories

Lumi is fundamentally an AI-powered platform built to democratize storytelling. It was co-founded by Kaepernick, drawing inspiration from the barriers he faced in publishing his own work.

The platform’s goal is to give all creators, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, the tools to independently create, publish, and merchandise their stories, such as graphic novels and comics.

In the PGCPS pilot program, Lumi is specifically tailored for K-12 students. It functions as a supportive writing tool, enabling young learners to generate characters, scenes, dialogue, and even illustrations from their written prompts.

This process is intended to engage students who might struggle with traditional writing methods, encouraging them to think critically about narrative development, character arcs, and plot structure.

A Focus on Literacy and Equity

The core mission of the PGCPS-Lumi partnership, which was teased during a 2025 appearance by Colin Kaepernick at a county event, is to tackle literacy challenges. County officials, including Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy, have highlighted the importance of using innovative tools to ensure students are reading at or above grade level.

The platform is designed with several features to promote equity and responsible use:

• Classroom-Safe Guardrails: Lumi includes built-in teacher oversight and transparency, giving educators full visibility into all student prompts and interactions.
• Literacy-Centered Design: While it uses image generation, the platform emphasizes the development of writing, story crafting, and narrative thinking skills.
• Bias-Aware Development: The tool was consciously built to address performance gaps often seen in standard AI models for non-white or multilingual students, promoting a more inclusive creative ecosystem.
• Privacy Compliance: Lumi’s documentation stresses that student data is not used to train AI models and complies with federal student privacy laws.

The pilot program began its rollout at several PGCPS schools, including Largo High School, with plans for district-wide expansion. By introducing students to AI in a practical, creative context, the partnership aims to prepare them for a future economy where digital and technological literacy are essential skills.

Colin Kaepernick hasn’t given up on an NFL future

As far as Kaepernick’s future in the NFL, he says, “We still train every morning, up early before we start getting to business and get up and running.”

“We always gonna be ready.”