Who RBG Thinks Is 'Dumb': NFL Anthem Protesters

And 'disrespectful,' she tells Katie Couric—but she wouldn't arrest them for it
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 10, 2016 1:53 PM CDT
RBG: I Wouldn't Arrest Anthem Protesters, but They're 'Dumb'
RBG isn't so much into the whole taking-a-knee-during-the-anthem thing.   (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Since NFL player Colin Kaepernick first refused to stand for the national anthem in August, he (and other protesters in the sports arena who've followed suit) has had his share of supporters and detractors. Count Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the latter category after a Yahoo interview Monday with Katie Couric in which she was asked about the patriotically-tinged hubbub. "I think it's dumb and disrespectful," she said, per Mediaite, adding she'd say the same thing about burning an American flag. "I think it's a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn't lock a person up for doing it."

She also calls such protests "arrogant," though she adds, per the Independent, that it would be "dangerous to arrest people for conduct that doesn’t jeopardize the health or well-being of other people." Barry Petchesky at Deadspin labels her commentary as "gross," saying, "And here I was thinking these athletes have played a pretty significant role in reigniting an important national discussion." A (somewhat) sympathetic commenter on the site, however, notes: "Eh, I know I probably shouldn't, but I tend to give people who lived through WW2 a little bit of leeway on being stupid about this sort of thing." (Watch the interview with Couric at Yahoo.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X