As the hours to Super Bowl LIII tick down, some celebs have shown their support for a different cause using the hashtag #ImWithKap.
The hashtag refers to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began the “take a knee” protest among NFL players and has subsequently been blacklisted from the NFL.
Ava DuVernay tweeted that she 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 the compromise my beliefs. It’s not worth it. #ImWithKap”
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 pic.twitter.com/fNEeke0crs
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) February 3, 2019
Common also used the hashtag to quote activist Angela Davis after his organization, Imagine Justice, tweeted an image of her wearing an #ImWithKap jersey.
“I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept,” he wrote.
“I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept” Dr. Angela Davis. #ImWithKap https://t.co/FobilXc7J0
— COMMON (@common) February 3, 2019
Lena Waithe also shared the image of Davis wearing the jersey alongside a fist emoji.
Nick Cannon used the hashtag to urge others to donate to Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp, a free campaign that the former quarterback founded to educate youth on higher education, self-empowerment, and how to interact with law enforcement.
#ImWithKap #7Challenge! I am donating $7 to Colin’s Know Your Rights Camp. The number 7 symbolizes Kap’s jersey number. I challenge you to donate $7 to @YourRightsCamp and nominate 7 others to do the same. Go to https://t.co/Bonrfn2Jf2 and click donate. @Kaepernick7 pic.twitter.com/upSma6Hcxs
— Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) February 3, 2019
While Jenifer Lewis didn’t use the #ImWithKap hashtag, she did include #TakeAKnee in her post of a song she wrote for Jussie Smollett. “You want a standing ovation, take a knee for the next generation,” she said in the video.
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This article originally appeared in Variety.