The first black Republican elected to the U.S. Senate said Thursday that NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is making a “drastic mistake” by continuing his sit-down protest of the national anthem, and said the American flag can never be “antithetical to freedom.”
“This country is the beacon of light for all of mankind and anyone that stands up or refuses to stand, I think you’re making a drastic mistake and you’re bringing the focus to you and not the underlying issue,” Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said on Fox News.
“Never should we ever find ourselves in a situation where we find the flag of the United states of America being antithetical to freedom,” Scott added. “The flag is the symbol of hope and opportunity for all.”
Scott has said before that he has been racially profiled even as a U.S. senator, but said, “the fact that we have problems never gives you permission to disrespect our flag.” Scott and New Jersey Democrat Sen. Cory Booker are the only two black U.S. senators currently in office.
