Dale Earnhardt Jr. supports NFL protesters on Twitter

While several NASCAR owners suggested they would fire drivers or crew members who knelt for the national anthem before a race, the sport’s most popular driver struck a different tone on Twitter.

Many fans would prefer sports and politics stay as separate as possible, but reality sometimes makes that impossible. And while no one would see Dale Earnhardt Jr. kneeling during the national anthem before a race, he took to Twitter and made it pretty clear he respects the other athletes who do.

Specifically, Junior’s tweet seems to be an answer to the question of the players in the NFL who have been kneeling, remaining in the locker room or locking arms as of late. Though players were choosing to protest issues of inequality or police overreach back into last year, those issues came to a head this weekend after President Donald Trump tweeted his feelings that protesting players should be fired.

Several NASCAR owners agreed, with Richard Petty and Richard Childress expressing their feelings that there was no place for what they perceived as disrespect for the anthem in NASCAR. Earnhardt Jr., however, took a markedly different tone:

It’s an interesting stance to take simply because as arguably the most well-known figure in his sport — and the most beloved, as Earnhardt is almost guaranteed to win his 15th consecutive Most Popular Driver honor this season — he’s taking a position that many in NASCAR do not hold. Still, Dale Jr. has never held back when speaking his mind about topics in or out of stock car racing, and his earnest, down to Earth nature is one of the things that makes him who he is.

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With that in mind, don’t expect Earnhardt Jr. to speak in more detail on his opinion now that he’s given it — though he probably won’t shy away from an answer if asked, either.