Colin Kaepernick might be the NFL's most disliked player for his decision to kneel during the national anthem to protest social inequality, but he has the complete support of his coach, Chip Kelly.

And that support hasn't gone unnoticed by Kaepernick's 49ers' teammates. In fact, they were especially impressed when Kelly was asked last Thursday about Kaepernick's story making national headlines and whether that was a locker room distraction. Here's how Kelly responded:

That prompted wide receiver Torrey Smith to tweet this:

"Knowing that he respects what (Kaepernick) is doing, he doesn't have to agree with how he's doing it, but he respects why he's doing it -- and I think that means a lot because there are real issues that need to be addressed, and Kap's protest has started the conversation and is keeping it going," Smith said, via ESPN.com. "I would go to bat for him any day of the week.

"We all have to have each other's back. He says it, and obviously when you do something like that, it shows it too."

Linebacker Eli Harold, who knelt with Kaepernick during the anthem on Sunday in Seattle, added: "I loved [the video of Kelly supporting the quarterback]. I retweeted it. It was very respectful. When he wasn't our coach, you hear a lot of things that happened with the receiver Riley Cooper and the racial stuff that they had over there, and when I saw that (video), I was like, that's amazing, that's beautiful. Supporting the backup quarterback, a guy who was a star in this league, that's what it's all about, is having each other's back -- and I feel like coach Chip gained a lot of respect from a lot of guys for that.

"Knowing that he's in your corner and he's going to fight for you. That's big, man, real big."

And that's the thing; former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy said in May 2015 that Kelly, then the Eagles' coach, made personnel moves based on race. Clearly, Kelly's current players aren't buying into the theory and for good reason.

"I think he's a strong man," Kaepernick said Sunday. "I don't know if he realizes how much that means to me and if he realizes how much that means to these people, to these communities. The fact that he was willing to take a strong stand and say these things aren't right -- that's huge coming from a head coach."