Colin Kaepernick honestly may have never planned for his protest to spread to anyone else. Even if he did, he probably didn’t think that it would turn into a national practice being displayed on various levels of multiple sports. But that’s the situation we’re in and he’s giving his support back to those who have supported his decision to protest the National Anthem.

The football team for a Castlemont High School in Oakland, California welcomed Kaepernick to join in with them this past week as they took his demonstration one step further. As he can be be seen kneeling next to them, as he has multiple times before his own games this season, the players and coaches laid on their backs with they hands raised.

“You are important. You make a difference. This matters,” Kaepernick told the team during a pre-game speech, according to FOX News. “Everything you do matters.

“That’s what this is about. I had to come support y’all, because the same y’all took a stand and stood with me, I had to come out here and stand with y’all. So I appreciate what y’all did. I love y’all, y’all my brothers. I’m here with you.”

“And I know situations like, situations a lot of y’all might be in where people don’t treat you the same,” Kaepernick continued to say. “They don’t give you the time of day. They don’t give you the opportunities to be the best you can be. And that’s why I made this decision to do what I did.”

Photo Credit: Kirk Morrison Twitter