San Francisco 49ers

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Colin Kaepernick protest is 'dumb and disrespectful'

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tells Katie Couric of Yahoo that she believes San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other players' decision to protest during the national anthem is “really dumb of them.”

“Would I arrest them for doing it? No,” Ginsburg said. “I think it’s dumb and disrespectful. 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 preventive,” she added after Couric noted that it was Kaepernick's First Amendment right to express himself. “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.”

Kaepernick started protesting the national anthem during the preseason by sitting and later kneeling during "The Star Spangled Banner" in hopes of raising awareness of racial injustice in America.

Ginsburg has been in the Supreme Court since 1993.

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