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Cam Newton on Colin Kaepernick’s new Nike campaign: ‘I respect the hell out of him’

It’s been two years since Colin Kaepernick played in the NFL, and yet his influence can still be heard in professional locker rooms.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has developed into one of America’s most polarizing athletes the past three years for juxtaposing social commentary with sports. Kaepernick’s decision to sit and later kneel during the pregame playing of the national anthem in 2016, which he said was to, “protest the injustices that are happening in America, the oppression that is happening in America,” started a league-wide revolution. Since then, countless players have kneeled or raised their fists in solidarity with Kaepernick’s message.