O.J. Simpson, who was released from prison last October after serving nine years for armed robbery and kidnapping, was famously acquitted of the 1995 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown-Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. The former Heisman Trophy winner spent eight seasons with the Buffalo Bills in the early 1970s and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

Now a free man, Simpson spoke with the Buffalo News' Tim Graham in his first substantial and wide-ranging interview in a decade. On the topic of Colin Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback who took a knee during the national anthem to protest social injustice during the 2016 season, and couldn't find a job in 2017, Simpson offered this:

"I think Colin made a mistake," Simpson said. "I really appreciate what he was trying to say. I thought he made a bad choice in attacking the flag. I grew up at a time when deacons were in the KKK. I don't disrespect the Bible because of those guys. The flag shouldn't be disrespected because of what cops do. The flag represents what we want America to be."

President Trump complained often that Kaepernick and other players who protested during the anthem were disrespecting the flag and should be suspended or fired. That's wrong -- these players were using their platform to draw attention to racial inequality and social justice. And they got that attention; if these players chose to kneel in the locker room before the game, no one sees them and their protests aren't heard. The cost, at least for Kaepernick, is that no NFL team has offered him a contract, even as Mike Glennon, Tom Savage and Chase Daniel have signed new deals in recent days.

Simpson continued: "When he did it the first time, I thought, 'Well, you took a gamble, and I give you credit.' But it was him continuing to do it where he made the biggest mistake. I'm a firm believer of doing what you think is right, but I would always stand for the flag."

And while Simpson agrees with Trump when it comes to Kaepernick's protest, he doesn't necessarily agree with the president's politics.

"Somebody asked me if I'd have voted for him ... Probably not, but I only know two of my friends I'd vote to be president," he said. "Some of my best, best besties I would not vote to be president. That has no bearing on it, you know?"