Colin Kaepernick continued his stance against violence and race matters in America on Thursday night by kneeling during the national anthem before the San Francisco 49ers-San Diego Chargers' preseason game. Niners teammate Eric Reid even joined him.

But the 49ers' quarterback is putting his money where his mouth by going the extra mile and helping ensure that change really takes place.

Following the game Thursday night, Kaepernick announced that he will donate $1 million in support of groups combating racial inequality and police brutality.

The 28-year-old QB also attempted to explain how he thinks that his silent protest has been taken out of context with the media.

“The media painted this as I’m anti-American, anti-men-and-women of the military and that’s not the case at all,’’ Kaepernick said after the 49ers' 31-21 win, as reported by USA Today Sports. “I realize that men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harm’s way for my freedom of speech and my freedoms in this country and my freedom to take a seat or take a knee, so I have the utmost respect for them. I think what I did was taken out of context and spun a different way.’’

It's one thing to protest and talk about race and violence in the U.S. However, it's a completely different thing to put your money up to help battle those issues.

So, props should be given to Kaepernick for putting his money where his mouth is and taking that extra step to spark change.

Let's see if any of his NFL peers follow suit and cut a check.

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