Barack Obama Supports 'Messy' Democracy And Sports Star's Constitutional Rights

Barack Obama knows something about con law.

onSeptember 6, 2016 at 12:18 PMJune 24, 2021 at 12:35 PM

(Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

He’s exercising his constitutional right to make a statement. I think there is a long history of sports figures doing so… I don’t doubt his sincerity, based on what I’ve heard. I think he cares about some real legitimate issues that have to be talked about. And if nothing else, what he’s done is he’s generated more conversation around some topics that need to be talked about… You’ve heard me talk about in the past the need for us to have an active citizenry. Sometimes that’s messy and controversial and it gets people angry and frustrated. But, I’d rather have young people who are engaged in the argument and trying to think through how they can be part of our democratic process than people who are just sitting on the sidelines and not paying attention at all. And my suspicion is, is that over time he’s gonna refine how he’s thinking about it, and maybe some of his critics will start seeing that he has a point around certain concerns about justice and equality, and that’s how we move forward. Sometimes it’s messy, but, you know, that’s the way democracy works.

—Barack Obama, one of the country’s most famous constitutional law professors and President of the United States, opining on San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick’s decision to not stand for the national anthem before games in protest. Kaepernick said he isn’t standing for the anthem because “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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.”