San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick should no longer play football if he feels so strongly about sitting out the national anthem, top sports agent Ari Fleischer told Newsmax TV on Thursday.
"Everybody knows you have the right to do foolish things," Fleischer told Bill Tucker, guest host of "The Steve Malzberg Show." "This is something I just lament.
"I wish he wasn't doing it, and if he really feels that strongly about it, he should run for office – or do something about it and no longer play football."
See Steve Malzberg on Newsmax TV: Tune in beginning at 7 PM EDT to see "The Steve Malzberg Show. " — on FiOS 115, YouTube Livestream, Newsmax TV App from any smartphone, NewsmaxTV.com, Roku, Amazon Fire — More Systems Here
Kaepernick has refused to stand during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the start of NFL games as a protest against racism and law enforcement treatment of African Americans.
But Fleischer, president of Fleischer Sports and former White House spokesman for George W. Bush, said Kaepernick is wrongheaded to use the national anthem to make his point.
"The national anthem and some of these old-fashioned notions of patriotism are some of the few bonds left to hold all of us together," Fleischer told Tucker.
"We're watching for decades as people split apart and the polarization gets worse. So there's one thing, the national anthem, we all enjoy singing together. It has nothing to do with politics, and yet now this small fringe is kind of getting praised for it in many quarters.
"People are talking about it as if it's a speech right. It has nothing to do with free speech rights . . . If they're talking about oppression of others, then don't bring politics into sports. Go run for office. One of the greatest things about sports, it's an escape from politics, it's an escape from the polarization."
He said sports are "a wonderful bonding place."
"Here Americans from all walks of life, regardless of party, go and enjoy being together to watch a game and cheer," he added. "Leave politics out of it . . . Frankly, if I owned the team I wouldn't have tolerated it myself."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.