Obama says Kaepernick has a right to protest anthem

President Barack Obama joined the ongoing debate about American football player Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem before games. Asked about the controversy on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, Obama said he believed the NFL star was voicing his concern with "some real, legitimate issues."

Obama said that while he understood the complexities of the issue in the US, and that it might be construed as an insult to "our men and women in uniform," fundamentally, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback was exercising his constitutional right to protest.

"If nothing else what he's done is he's generated more conversation around some topics that need to be talked about," the president told the press.

US 'oppresses black people and people of color'

Kaepernick first garnered headlines in late August when he sat through a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as everyone else rose during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. He was joined by another teammate, Eric Reid, who kneeled with him throughout the song at the following game.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," he initially told the press, before explaining that he hoped to generate a national dialogue on how "rogue cops" make communities unsafe, and the realities of racial injustice across the nation.

His move also prompted US professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe take one knee during the anthem when her Seattle Reign played the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday evening.

"It was a little nod to Kaepernick and everything that he's standing for right now," Rapinoe told American Soccer Now.

The quarterback's actions have prompted an intense, visceral debate about taboo against repudiating national symbols in the United States.

es/rc (dpa, Reuters)