Hundreds rallied outside NFL headquarters in Midtown on Wednesday to support controversial football player Colin Kaepernick.
"Colin Kaepernick took a knee for my 18 year-old son, and that's why I'm out here today," one demonstrator said at a podium at the rally.
Protesters said the NFL is blackballing the 29 year-old quarterback because he took a stance against racial injustice.
Last year, Kaepernick refused to stand for the national anthem to protest police brutality.
He is currently a free agent, and many believe teams are not signing him because of the controversy.
"Colin Kaepernick has nothing to apologize for. He did nothing wrong," one Kaepernick supporter said. "He exercised his First Amendment rights against a problem that we see in our society every single day."
A small counter-protest gathered across the street. Emotions were high on both sides.
"We think it is insane that these people are honoring someone whose claim to fame is to sit down while they play the national anthem," a counter-protester said.
Kaepernick played six years for the San Francisco 49ers and led them to a Super Bowl berth in 2013 before becoming a free agent this offseason.
The NAACP has requested a meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the issue, saying it's "no sheer coincidence" that Kaepernick hasn't been picked up by another team.