‘Issues That Need to Be Talked About’
President Barack Obama says San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has every right to protest by refusing to stand during the national anthem. For nearly two weeks Kaepernick has been sitting, or kneeling on one knee, to protest racial oppression including police killings of unarmed Black people.
Kaepernick is “exercising his constitutional right to make a statement,” President Obama said, in a press conference at the G-20 Summit which is being held in China, a country where such a protest would be illegal.
“There’s a long history of sports figures” engaging in protests, the President added.Â
“I don’t doubt his sincerity,” Obama said.
WATCH:Â Soccer Great Megan Rapinoe Gives ‘A Little Nod’ to Colin Kaepernick, Kneels for National Anthem
“Maybe some critics will see he has a point around justice and equality. Sometimes it’s messy. But that’s how democracy works,” Obama told reporters.
Kaepernick “cares about some real legitimate issues that need to be talked about. He’s generated some more conversation around topics that need to be talked about.”
Praising Kaepernick for his “active citizenry,” the President said he would “rather have young people who are engaged in the argument than people who are just sitting on the sidelines and not paying attention at all.”
Obama also balanced his response, saying, “when it comes to the flag, the national anthem, and the meaning that holds for our men and women in uniform and those who’ve fought for us – that is a tough thing for them to get past to then hear what his deeper concerns are.”
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