Colin Kaepernick, right, and a teammate kneel in protest during the national anthem prior to playing the Los Angeles Rams in their NFL game on September 12. | Getty Obama asks Kaepernick to think about pain he's causing military families

President Barack Obama wants Colin Kaepernick to think about the pain he’s causing military families the next time he takes a knee during the national anthem.

Obama was asked about the controversy over the football player’s protest move during a CNN town hall with members of America’s armed forces community on Wednesday. Kaepernick, a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, has sat or kneeled when the national anthem is played during recent games to draw attention to racial oppression in the U.S., especially police shootings of black men.


The president defended Kaepernick and others who have joined him in such acts, which many Americans consider offensive, saying, “We fight sometimes so that people can do things that we disagree with.” But Obama also said people on both sides of the issue should keep open ears.

“Sometimes out of these controversies, we start getting into a conversation, and I want everybody to listen to each other,” Obama said. “So I want Mr. Kaepernick and others who are on a knee, I want them to listen to the pain that that may cause somebody who, for example, had a spouse or a child who was killed in combat, and why it hurts them to see somebody not standing.”

The president added, however: “I also want people to think about the pain that he may be expressing about somebody who’s lost a loved one that they think was unfairly shot.”

There are signs that Kaepernick is sensitive to the feelings of military families. The football player initially sat during the national anthem, but, according to media reports, switched to taking a knee in part to show some respect for military families.