San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, right, celebrates with his father, Mike, after winning the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers in Santa Clara, Calif., on Jan. 19. (AP file photo)

San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan praised former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick for trying to bring the issue of racism and police brutality to light with his protests during the national anthem in the 2016 season.

The issues surrounding Kaepernick’s stance have resurfaced this week as many players and teams in the league have been protesting the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd was a black man who was handcuffed as a police officer pressed a knee on his neck for several minutes. Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees also apologized Thursday after being criticized for reiterating his opposition to Kaepernick’s protest.

“What he was doing was a big deal,” Shanahan said Thursday about Kaepernick. “Whether you disagree with how he did it or not doesn’t matter. It’s three years later and there’s still some people not understanding what his message was. Too many people aren’t understanding the message that everyone’s been giving for a long time, and Colin did it the strongest out of anyone. People should respect him a ton for that and admire him.”

Kaepernick protested police brutality and racism during the 2016 season with the 49ers by taking a knee during the national anthem. He was joined by several teammates and others throughout the league.

Shanahan arrived in San Francisco as coach the following year and wanted to go a different direction at quarterback. Kaepernick opted out of his contract before getting released and has not been signed by another team since.