Ava DuVernay Says She’s Boycotting the 2019 Super Bowl in Support of Colin Kaepernick
Ava DuVernay is standing in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.
The Selma filmmaker, 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 watch Super 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.
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.
Kaepernick started the #TakeAKnee movement in 2016, when he declined to stand for the national anthem at games in protest of police brutality and the racial injustices faced by people of color in America.
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While the silent act of protest quickly spread to other NFL teams, it also generated substantial backlash and ignited a political firestorm.
In March 2017, the quarterback opted out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers. Kaepernick hasn’t been hired by another team since and, in an ongoing lawsuit, is suing the NFL for colluding to keep him unsigned because of his politics. An arbitrator recently threw out the NFL’s request to dismiss the case.
Along with DuVernay, stars like Nick Cannon and rapper Common voiced their support of Kaepernick on Sunday.
Ahead of Maroon 5’s Pepsi halftime show, frontman Adam Levine said 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 to Entertainment 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.
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