Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is averse to linking sports and politics.

Numerous players across the NFL have joined San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in his protest against police brutality and racial inequality over the past few weeks, gaining national traction and attention.

Moreover, several organizations, including the NBA and NCAA pulled events out of North Carolina due to the HB2 law, which requires individuals to use bathrooms that correspond with their sex at birth, discriminating against the LGBTQ community.

Rivera believes sports are meant to be apolitical, nonetheless.

"People come to the stadium to get away. And I decided that after the 1980 Olympic boycott. I didn’t think it was fair. We were using sports as pawns,” Rivera said to Joseph Person of The Charlotte Observer.

"We weren't happy with the politics in Russia, and what did they do? They were invading Afghanistan. So as far as I'm concerned, sports is sports and politics is politics. If you want to talk politics, if you want to get involved, throw your hat in the political ring, you want to make change, vote. Vote. That's the truth of the matter."