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\"You just want to be happy and excited to play, and some of the negativity definitely made it not as fun initially,\" he explains.

\"PHOTO:
RTNUPA/MediaPunch /IPX via AP, FILE
PHOTO: Maroon 5 attending the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards held at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Aug. 24th, 2014.
>

As for whether or not he personally wanted to perform, the artist says, \"There was conflict for sure ... I can clearly say I am against police brutality against black and brown people at a higher rate, and I am for peacefully protesting.\"

And while he supports the cause Kaepernick championed on the field, \"I also think there are people who are employed by the NFL who play football every week and support what Kap stands for.\"

Morton admits the Super Bowl is \"something I’ve wanted to do my whole life,\" adding, \"Our job as musicians is to provide a service and make people feel good, and I think that’s going to be our mission.\"

“I am proud to use my voice to unite and represent our country in my hometown of Atlanta,” Knight said https://t.co/kfYnJOIVxl

— Variety (@Variety) January 18, 2019

Meanwhile, it was announced Thursday that Gladys Knight would sing \"The Star-Spangled Banner\" at the big game. She spoke to Variety and said it's unfortunate that the anthem and Kaepernick's protest have become conflated.

\"I understand that Mr. Kaepernick is protesting two things, and they are police violence and injustice,\" Knight wrote in her statement to Variety. \"It is unfortunate that our National Anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the National Anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone.\"

Knight goes on to say, \"I am here today and on Sunday, Feb. 3 to give the Anthem back its voice, to stand for that historic choice of words, the way it unites us when we hear it and to free it from the same prejudices and struggles I have fought long and hard for all my life ... I have been in the forefront of this battle longer than most of those voicing their opinions to win the right to sing our country’s Anthem on a stage as large as the Super Bowl LIII.\"

She closed with the hopes that the anthem can unite, not divide next month.

\"I pray that this National Anthem will bring us all together in a way never before witnessed and we can move forward and untangle these truths which mean so much to all of us,” she said.

Super Bowl 53 will take place at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium Feb. 3.

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