Vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision not to stand during the national anthem before games “didn’t make that much sense to me.”
“You know, I – you’ve got to respect people’s ability to act according to their conscience,” Kaine said on ABC Thursday. “I’d do it differently. I think if you really thought about issues, and about this country, you’d do it differently, and when I heard him explain his rationale, [it] didn’t make that much sense to me.”
Kaine, whose son is a U.S. Marine, also stressed, “But you have to respect people’s ability to act according to their conscience. So I wouldn’t presume to tell him what to do.”
Kaepernick refused during a preseason game last Friday to stand during the national anthem, and said later that his demonstration was done to protest police brutality in minority communities.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said in an interview with NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Kaepernick’s protest came amid rumors the San Francisco 49ers are reportedly considering cutting him loose due to multiple injuries and “poor play.”
