The National Football League has grown increasingly controversial due to the ongoing Colin Kaepernick lawsuit, and ahead of the 2019 Super Bowl, 83,000 of its harshest critics are staging a digital protest.

Thousands of people are hoping that a Change.org petition will catch the attention of pop-rock act Maroon 5, who are slated to perform at this year's Halftime Show in Atlanta. Their message: Back out of the Super Bowl performance to stand in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.

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Kaepernick, who formerly played quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, began kneeling during the the national anthem in 2016 to protest racism and police brutality in America. He became a free agent in March 2017 and has not been drafted to play for another team since, despite football experts and statistics suggesting his performance is on par with or better than multiple other quarterbacks signed to teams.

A new Athletic poll of 85 current NFL defensive players underscores that point, finding that 95 percent of them believe Kaepernick should be signed onto an NFL roster.

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"Colin Kaepernick has sacrificed his NFL career to call out violent racism in America, and players across the country have followed his lead," reads the petition. "Rihanna, Jay-Z, Amy Schumer and others have refused to work with the NFL. Maroon 5: Americans look to artists and celebrities as leaders, and you have huge opportunity to use your influence to take a stand."

Kaepernick is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with the NFL, alleging that coaches and owners are colluding to keep him out of the league. Last August, an arbiter ruled to allow Kap's case to go forward, stating he had enough evidence to make the case league execs were trying to keep him off the field.

Super Bowl LIII takes place on February 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

