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In mid-September 2025, a rumor spread online that Colin Kaepernick, a civil rights activist and former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, planned to pay for an independent autopsy for Demartravion "Trey" Reed, a 21-year-old Black student found hanging from a tree on a Mississippi college campus earlier in the month.
While the state's medical examiner ruled Reed's death a suicide, Vanessa Jones, a lawyer representing Reed's family, said on Sept. 16 that they would seek an independent investigation, citing inconsistent information allegedly provided by authorities. Reed's death also sparked alarm on social media, as many people worried Reed was lynched. The act, defined as the public killing of a person without due process, is associated with white violence against Black people, particularly Black men. Mississippi saw the most lynchings in the 19th and 20th centuries of all U.S. states, according to the NAACP.
The claim about Kaepernick's alleged decision to fund Reed's second autopsy spread in news outlets and on X, Facebook and Reddit. "Colin Kaepernick Pays for Autopsy of Black Student Found Hanging From Tree," read the headline of a report from Mother Jones. Snopes readers also wrote in to ask whether Kaepernick would be paying for Reed's autopsy.
These reports were largely accurate. On Sept. 19, one of Reed's family's attorneys, Ben Crump, announced that Know Your Rights Camp — a civil rights organization co-founded and funded by Kaepernick — planned to pay for a "second, independent autopsy" for Reed.
However, it was unclear whether Kaepernick personally intervened in Reed's case and how much of Know Your Rights Camp's funding — or the money for Reed's autopsy — would come directly from Kaepernick's pockets. As such, we have rated this claim mostly true.
Kaepernick's organization to pay for second autopsy
Crump announced Kaepernick's organization would be paying for the autopsy in a news release, available in full below (emphasis ours):
Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump today announced that the Colin Kaepernick "Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative" will cover the cost of a second, independent autopsy for Demartravion "Trey" Reed. Reed's family will seek the autopsy as soon as Reed's body is released by the state medical examiner.
Trey's family has raised serious concerns after receiving conflicting accounts and incomplete information about the circumstances of his death.
"Trey's death evoked the collective memory of a community that has suffered a historic wound over many, many years and many, many deaths. Peace will come only by getting to the truth. We thank Colin Kaepernick for supporting this grieving family and the cause of justice and truth."
Know Your Rights Camp also shared Crump's news release on its website, further indicating its legitimacy.
While the final quote of the release implied Kaepernick may have personally chosen to support Reed's autopsy, the news release did not include additional information about Kaepernick's role. Crump, Kaepernick's representative and Know Your Rights Camp Autopsy Initiative did not immediately return inquiries asking for more clarity.
Is Kaepernick personally paying?
On the Know Your Rights Camp website, the organization's link to its financial disclosure statement directed to information about the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a charity that funds hundreds of other charitable organizations — including, presumably, Kaepernick's organization. The foundation's 2023 tax returns — the most recent available as of this writing — did not explicitly list funding for Know Your Rights Camp, instead reporting approximately $54.2 million in expenses and $44.6 million in revenue for its "CHARITABLE SERVICE FUNDS" on Page 2:
CHARITABLE SERVICE FUNDS. EIF SERVES AS THE TRUSTED RESOURCE OF THE CELEBRITIES, ATHLETES, AND ENTERTAINMENT COMPANIES SEEKING TO EXPAND THEIR PHILANTHROPIC FOOTPRINT AND LEVERAGE THEIR PLATFORMS FOR SOCIAL GOOD. CHARITABLE SERVICE FUNDS THRIVE WITHIN EIF'S REPUTABLE 501(C)(3) PUBLIC CHARITY STATUS.
According to the Know Your Rights Camp's 2024 annual report, Kaepernick founded the organization in 2015 with his wife, television and radio host Nessa Diab. Know Your Rights Camp created the "KYRC Autopsy Initiative" in 2022 to provide free second, independent autopsies without charge. Each autopsy costs about $13,600, according to the organization, and as of 2024, it had done 100 independent autopsies.
"We launched the autopsy initiative to provide free autopsies for families who had a loved one who lost their life to police violence," Kaepernick said in a video about the service. "We've sadly had so many people reach out to engage in the initiative to try to find clarity of how their loved one died."
On its home page (archived), KYRC's website noted that Kaepernick and Diab had written a children's book called "We Are Free, You & Me," and 100% of the proceeds would go to Know Your Rights Camp. KYRC's website also solicited donations. No other information about the extent of Kaepernick's involvement in the organization's financial structure appeared to be available as of this writing.