"He's being vilified in how he brings the truth out," Tommie Smith said of Colin Kaepernick

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s decision to sit during the national anthem in protest of racism and police brutality in the United States has become a topic of national debate.

While many athletes and fans have been quick to denounce Kaepernick’s form of protest, others, like iconic Olympic athlete Tommie Smith, have applauded the 28-year-old for carrying on a tradition of political activism in sports.

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At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Smith and USA Track and Field teammate John Carlos won the gold and bronze medals for the 200-meter dash. When the two athletes stepped up to the podium for the national anthem, they raised their fists in protest of racism in America.

Their gesture, while controversial at the time, has long served as a symbol of how black athletes can use their place in the public eye to raise awareness of social and political issues.

Smith sees Kaepernick’s refusal to stand until there is a “significant change” in the oppression of people due to their race in the United States as the continuation of the same fight he and Carlos engaged in almost 50 years ago.

“I know what this young man is going through,” Smith told Canadian magazine Macleans. “The eradication of stupidity takes sacrifices sometimes, and this time, Colin said himself: ‘I hope people hear me because I have something to say. I’m not out there to hurt anybody.’ ”

“I’m 72 now,” he continued. You’ve got two people here that are fighting for the same thing, a half a century apart.”

Smith said that he faced a violent backlash to his protest that included receiving threatening phone calls and notes that read: “Go back to Africa.”

“They would send mock tickets with rocks through the window,” he recalled. “One rock nearly hit my son. I was married when I was a senior in college, and a rock missed my son by an inch as he laid in his night crib, sleeping.”

Kaperenick has faced a similar backlash, receiving death threats on social media and the suggestion from GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that the quarterback “should find a country that works better for him.”

Smith says those who are most vocal in their anger are missing the point of Kaepernick’s protest.

“He’s being vilified in how he brings the truth out,” Smith told USA Today. “I support him because he’s bringing the truth out – regardless of how done. If it’s not done violently, at least he should be heard.”

John Carlos agrees. In a radio interview on 95.7 The Game, Carlos said that he sees Kaepernick’s protest as the continuation of a legacy of civil rights icons who have taken stands to further the national dialogue surrounding race.

“Well, you know, my view of him, sitting down for the national anthem is the same as Rosa Parks sitting on the bus, refusing to give up her seat in the front,” Carlos said. “Rosa Parks was making a statement. Kaepernick is making a statement as well. Colin’s making a statement as well.”