Ava DuVernay is standing in solidarity withColin Kaepernick.
TheSelmafilmmaker, 42, voiced her support for the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback — who started the #TakeAKnee movement to protest racial injustices — on Twitter on Sunday and said she won’t be tuning in to watchSuper Bowl LIII.
“I will not be a spectator, viewer or supporter of the #SuperBowl today in protest of the @NFL’s racist treatment of @Kaepernick7 and its ongoing disregard for the health + well-being of all its players. To watch the game is to compromise my beliefs. It’s not worth it. #ImWithKap,” DuVernay wrote.
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/REX/Shutterstock; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Last year, DuVernay shared a similar message in support of Kaepernick, 31, ahead of the big game.
“The only football player I’m checking for this weekend. ‘Cause I cannot pretend that everything is okay with this enterprise. #ImWithKap,” she shared on Twitter, along with a picture of her posing with Kaepernick.
Many fans have opted to boycott the Super Bowl and the NFL itself in support of Kaepernick and all players who have been criticized or penalized for taking a knee.
While the silent act of protest quickly spread to other NFL teams, it also generated substantial backlash and ignited a political firestorm.
Along with DuVernay, stars likeNick Cannonand rapper Common voiced their support of Kaepernick on Sunday.
Ahead of Maroon 5’s Pepsi halftime show, frontmanAdam Levinesaid the feelings and voices of those who have opted to boycott the Super Bowl will not be neglected during their performance.
“They will be [heard] — that’s all I want to say because I don’t want to spoil anything,” Levine explained toEntertainment Tonight.
“And once again, I like to think that people know where I stand as a human being after two decades doing this,” he continued. “I’m not a speaker. I’m not a public speaker. I do speak, but it’s through the music.”
Super Bowl 53 is airing live from Atlanta on CBS.
source: people.com
