President Obama said Monday that Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, was “exercising his constitutional right” by refusing to stand during the national anthem, a decision that has fostered considerable controversy since he first took the action on Aug. 26.

While noting the significance of the flag and the national anthem, the president said there was a long history of sports figures making political statements.

“I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about,” President Obama said during a news conference in China. “And if nothing else, what he’s done is he’s generated more conversation around some topics that need to be talked about.”

It was the first time that the president had weighed in on Kaepernick’s actions, which many have criticized as being disrespectful to the United States.