Derek Jeter wouldn’t say whether he would take a knee during the national anthem if he still were playing, but the Marlins’ new co-owner and future Hall of Famer wouldn’t have a problem if one of his players chose to protest social injustice and police brutality by doing so.

“Peaceful protest is fine,” the Miami CEO said Wednesday at the 21st annual Turn 2 Foundation Dinner at Cipriani on Wall Street. “You have a right to voice your opinion, as long as it’s a peaceful protest.”

As a player, Jeter rarely discussed social issues. But when asked his feelings about athletes taking a knee, which has become a major topic of discussion since former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee last year as a form of protest and has been followed by many other NFL players, he had no problem sharing his opinion. One MLB player, Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell, has taken a knee. Growing up biracial in Michigan, Jeter faced racism, and has said it shaped his life.

“The thing that I think is probably frustrating with this whole rhetoric that’s going back and forth is people lose sight of why someone was kneeling,” Jeter said. “They’re focused so much on the fact they are kneeling, as opposed to what they are kneeling for.”

Jeter made baseball news this week, when he poached former Yankees vice president of player development Gary Denbo to join the Marlins as director of player development and amateur scouting. So far, Jeter is enjoying his return to baseball.

“I’ve always been pretty vocal in my career [that] when I was done, I wanted to be part of an ownership group,” he said. “That was the second dream. Now I’m getting an opportunity to live that.”

But he still has made time to follow his old team. Jeter has kept tabs on the Yankees from their victory in the wild-card game through the ALDS against the Indians, and he has been impressed.

“They’re doing well,” the legendary Yankees shortstop said. “A lot of them I worked with at the minor league complex [when he was still playing]. A lot of the players I saw when they were 17, 18 years old. It’s fun to watch. Yankees fans have a lot of years watching [these] guys.

“It’s more exciting [for me] to have had the opportunity to see them develop, and turn into the players they are now.”