Ruth Bader Ginsburg Calls NFL Anthem Protests ‘Dumb And Disrespectful’ (VIDEO)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes part in a panel discussion after speaking at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016. Ginsburg spoke as part of a series of events at Brande... U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg takes part in a panel discussion after speaking at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016. Ginsburg spoke as part of a series of events at Brandeis to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the nomination and appointment of Louis D. Brandeis to the U.S. Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Liberal Supreme Court stalwart Ruth Bader Ginsburg took aim at San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for spearheading a wave of NFL player protests of the national anthem over police brutality and systemic racism, calling their actions “dumb and disrespectful.”

“I think it’s really dumb of them,” Ginsburg told Yahoo News of Kaepernick and other football stars refusing to stand during the “Star Spangled Banner.”

“Would I arrest them for doing it? No,” Ginsburg continued. “I think it’s dumb and disrespectful. I would have the same answer if you asked me about flag burning. I think it’s a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn’t lock a person up for doing it. I would point out how ridiculous it seems to me to do such an act.”

Yahoo’s Katie Couric asked if she believed their actions were “within their rights” to exercise.

“Yes,” Ginsburg replied. “If they want to be stupid, there’s no law that should be preventive. If they want to be arrogant, there’s no law that prevents them from that. What I would do is strongly take issue with the point of view that they are expressing when they do that.”

These surprisingly frank comments come just a few months after Ginsburg was criticized for calling Donald Trump a “faker” and saying she didn’t “want to think about” him winning the presidency. Though Ginsburg apologized for being “incautious,” Trump called for her to resign from the nation’s highest court, saying her “mind is shot.”

Reactions to the NFL players demonstrations have mostly broken down on partisan lines, with conservative politicians like Trump accusing the players of disrespecting law enforcement and Hillary Clinton’s running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), saying all Americans should have the right to protest.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Please proceed, white people. Black folks are unused to hearing how they should behave, so this should all be refreshing.

  2. I like you, Justice Ginsburg, but you are wrong in this case.

  3. Avatar for schmed schmed says:

    Another reason to vote for Clinton (as if there weren’t enough already): RBG needs to retire. Soon.

  4. with all due respect I invoke Gibbs Rule #51

    ‘sometimes you’re wrong’

  5. Those comments will be used as a meme soon.

    yeah

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

61 more replies

Participants

Avatar for doremus_jessup Avatar for austin_dave Avatar for kendyzdad Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for nickdanger Avatar for mmurdoch Avatar for mcnett Avatar for imkmu3 Avatar for zoran Avatar for thepsyker Avatar for tomdibble Avatar for chuck_voellinger Avatar for arrendis Avatar for johnbarleycorn Avatar for sonsofares Avatar for boidster Avatar for addicted4444 Avatar for pb Avatar for neal_anderthal Avatar for jcblues Avatar for boisdevache Avatar for tiowally Avatar for harrynevus Avatar for polisong

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: