Ava DuVernay among celebrities boycotting Super Bowl in support of Colin Kaepernick

Image: Colin Kaepernick, Eric Reid
San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick, right, and Eric Reid kneel during the national anthem before an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 18, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Copyright Mike McCarn AP file
Copyright Mike McCarn AP file
By Janelle Griffith with NBC News U.S. News
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"To watch the game is to compromise my beliefs," the film director tweeted. "It's not worth it."

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Ava DuVernay was among the first celebrities to announce Sunday that she will boycott Super Bowl 53 to protest what she described as the NFL's "racist treatment" of Colin Kaepernick.

DuVernay explained in a tweetthat she wasn't watching the event because of the NFL's "ongoing disregard for the health" and well-being of its players.

"To watch the game is to compromise my beliefs," she said. "It's not worth it."

The film director ended her statement with the hashtag #ImWithKap, which was also used in tweets by Nick Cannon and rapper Common.

Cannon tweeted that he was donating $7 to the Know Your Rights Camp, a free campaign for youth funded by Kaepernick, and urged his followers to do the same.

San Francisco 49ers\' Colin Kaepernick, right, and Eric Reid kneel during the national anthem before an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 18, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
San Francisco 49ers\' Colin Kaepernick, right, and Eric Reid kneel during the national anthem before an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 18, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina.Mike McCarn

Common meanwhile tweeted an image of himself and activist Angela Davis wearing a jersey with Kaepernick's number seven.

"'We are never assured of justice without a fight," he tweeted, quoting Davis.

NBA stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant were also photographed wearing Kaepernick jerseys this weekend.

Kaepernick, a former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, sparked debate in the league and across America in 2016 when he began kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest police brutality and racial inequality.

Kaepernick has accused the league's owners of colluding to keep him off the field because of the player protests during the "Star Spangled Banner."

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