The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has put Colin Kaepernick in rare company. The former NFL quarterback has been named one of the first honorees for the Ralph Ellison Award for Defenders of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Arts, Business, Science, and Sports, alongside Bruce Springsteen. Colin’s wife, Nessa Diab, has seen the path that led Colin to this honor, and has decided to honor him in her own way.

Nessa took a screengrab of a news piece that talked about Colin’s award, and posted it on her Instagram handle with a heartfelt caption:

“Colin, you sacrificed so much because you believed this country could be a better place,” Nessa wrote. “I’ve realized that no matter how cruelly you’ve been treated because you peacefully protested police violence, God always finds a way to protect and bless you.

“I’ve learned so much from you. What I’ll never fully understand is how you’ve managed to keep such a kind heart and continue pouring into millions of people, even after so many people have turned on you. Colin, You’ll forever be on the right side of history.”

Kaepernick’s protest began in 2016, when he knelt during the national anthem to call attention to police violence and racial injustice. The ensuing backlash pushed him out of the NFL and turned him into a lasting civil-rights figure. And now, he’s being honored for it. In an official press release from the ACLU, its executive director, Anthony D. Romero, highlighted Kaepernick and Springsteen’s achievements.

“Bruce Springsteen and Colin Kaepernick epitomize talent with a purpose,” Romero noted. “Bruce Springsteen’s iconic songs like ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ date back decades, and so does his advocacy on behalf of civil rights and liberties. Colin Kaepernick’s activism off the field has changed lives for a decade, long after the backlash he received for speaking out against racial injustice. We are proud of the partnerships the ACLU has formed with Bruce and Colin, and we’re honored to recognize their lifetime achievements with one of the ACLU’s highest honors.”

While Bruce Springsteen and Colin Kaepernick get the Ralph Ellison award, they aren’t alone. Vanita Gupta – former U.S. associate attorney general and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights – will be honored with the ACLU Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, will receive the ACLU Presidential Prize.

Elizabeth Foster, who, per ACLU’s press release, “mobilizes students to protect interconnected liberties ranging from free speech to LGBTQ rights,” will also earn the honor of being the ACLU Next Generation Leader in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This is the rare company that Colin Kaepernick now finds himself in.