Colin Kaepernick Talks Protest Support In First One-On-One Interview
Photo of Colin Kaepernick courtesy of ESPN.
In this Monday, Sept. 12, 2016, file photo, San Francisco 49ers safety Eric Reid (35) and quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
After decrying NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protests as "dumb and disrespectful" last week, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has apologized.
In a statement, Ginsburg said she was uninformed about the details of the protest, and that her comments were "inappropriately dismissive and harsh."
"Some of you have inquired about a book interview in which I was asked how I felt about Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players who refused to stand for the national anthem," Ginsburg said. "Barely aware of the incident or its purpose, my comments were inappropriately dismissive and harsh. I should have declined to respond."
Kaepernick has sparked discussion this year by refusing to stand during the national anthem. He has said he will continue his protest until the United States resolves its issue with police brutality toward black people. He has also pledged to donate $1 million, and the revenue from his increased jersey sales, to organizations that fight the issues he is protesting.
WNBA teams have worn shirts in warm-ups to speak up about the issue, and NBA players did the same for the likes of Eric Garner. But Kaepernick's protest has had the largest reaction so far: other players in the NFL, woman's soccer star Megan Rapinoe, and some NBA teams during the preseason have either knelt or locked arms during the protest, and some offended NFL viewers have threatened to stop watching games.
Ginsburg said her original comments to Yahoo's Katie Couric, during an interview to promote her new book "My Own Words." Her criticism of the protest was pointed and harsh.
"Would I arrest them for doing it? No. I think it's dumb and disrespectful," she said. "I would have the same answer if you asked me about flag burning. I think it's a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn't lock a person up for doing it. I would point out how ridiculous it seems to me to do such an act."
"If they want to be stupid, there's no law that should be preventative," she later said. "If they want to be arrogant, there's no law that prevents them from that. What I would do is strongly take issue with the point of view that they are expressing when they do that."
They came as a surprise to her fans, who affectionately refer to as Notorious RBG. She has built a reputation as a progressive judge for her statements with rulings toward liberal causes - particularly with her dissent of the Supreme Court's invalidation of a provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Kaepernick, meanwhile, will continue his protest, regardless of Ginsburg's apology. After limited play the preseason and the first five games of the season as a backup, he was announced as the team's starting quarterback for Sunday's Week 6 game against the Buffalo Bills.
