Most
Americans disagree with Kaepernick, but respect his right to protest
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[September 15, 2016]
By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most Americans
think San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's refusal to
stand for the national anthem is unpatriotic but support his right
to free speech, while nearly half do not think the National Football
League should penalize him, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll
released on Wednesday.
The opinion poll found that 61 percent of Americans said they do not
agree with Kaepernick, who has taken a knee during the
"Star-Spangled Banner" in protest of racial injustice and police
brutality.
Explore the polling results here
http://polling.reuters.com/#!poll/TM994Y16_4
While Kaepernick has inspired other players to refuse to stand
during the national anthem, 72 percent of Americans said they
thought it was unpatriotic.
Even so, 64 percent of respondents said they felt the quarterback
had the right to protest under the U.S. Constitution, which
guarantees freedom of speech.
And 46 percent said he should not be penalized by the NFL, which so
far has said that there is no specific rule that requires players to
stand during the anthem. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said he
supports players' right to protest.
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Nancy Harms, a farmer in Iowa, told Reuters she strongly believed
Kaepernick should stand for the anthem as someone "born and raised
in this country." But she said his protest was a fair exercise of
freedom of speech.
"I have the freedom of speech also and I say, 'you're wrong',"
Harms, 57, added.
Reaction to Kaepernick split sharply along racial lines in the poll.
While some 70 percent of respondents who identified as white said
they disagreed with Kaepernick, that number dropped to 40 percent of
respondents who identified as a racial minority.
Kaepernick has the right to say what he wants, said Thomas Holland,
72, who identifies as white. He said the protest was disrespectful
toward the armed forces.
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![](../images/091516pics/sports61.jpg)
49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and teammate 49ers free safety
Eric Reid (35) kneel during the playing of the national anthem
before a NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Mar/14/images/ads/current/tires250x300.gif)
"There are different ways to protest than to disrespect the flag,"
said Holland, a retiree from Virginia Beach.
Terri Barbour, 42, who identifies as an African-American, said she
supports Kaepernick. She said it was "everyone's individual right"
whether to stand for the anthem.
The anthem "was written in a time when we as African-Americans were
still slaves," said Barbour.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English from Sept. 6
to 12 in all 50 states. A total of 2,093 adults responded to the
poll, including 1,481 people who identified as white and 612 people
who identified as racial minorities. It has a credibility interval,
a measure of accuracy, of 2 percentage points for the total group, 3
percentage points for whites and 5 percentage points for racial
minorities.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Chris Kahn and
David Gregorio)
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