Athletes have come out to criticize Colin Kaepernick’s stance on not standing for the National Anthem.

On a brighter note, many people have stepped out and supported Colin and one now of the NBA legends has decided to speak out and show support for the 49ers quarterback. The NBA’s all-time leader in scoring, a former cultural ambassador, activist and author Kareem Abdul- Jabbar gave his stance to the Washington Post on Tuesday defining ‘Patriotism”

“Patriotism isn’t just getting teary-eyed on the Fourth of July or choked up at war memorials. It’s supporting what the Fourth of July celebrates and what those war memorials commemorate: the U.S. Constitution’s insistence that all people should have the same rights and opportunities and that it is the obligation of the government to make that happen. When the government fails in those obligations, it is the responsibility of patriots to speak up and remind them of their duty.”

He also used Kap’s own words from his most recent press-conference to help define.

“One of the ironies of the way some people express their patriotism is to brag about our freedoms, especially freedom of speech, but then brand as unpatriotic those who exercise this freedom to express dissatisfaction with the government’s record in upholding the Constitution. Colin Kaepernick explained why he will not stand during the national anthem: “There are a lot of things that are going on that are unjust [that] people aren’t being held accountable for. And that’s something that needs to change. That’s something that this country stands for — freedom, liberty, justice for all. And it’s not happening for all right now.”

He compared Kap’s stance to Muhammad Ali’s refusal to be drafted in 1967, an action that did cost him his heavyweight title and years of his prime. He also mentioned Tommie Smith and John Carlos both who decided to raise their black-gloved fists in protest of racial injustices after receiving their medals in the 1968 Olympics.

“What should horrify Americans is not Kaepernick’s choice to remain seated during the national anthem,” he wrote, “but that nearly 50 years after Ali was banned from boxing for his stance and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s raised fists caused public outrage and numerous death threats, we still need to call attention to the same racial inequities.”

You can read more of Kareem’s statement to the Washington Post here.