Justice Ginsburg on Kaepernick comments: I should not have said that

Ruth Bader Ginsburg has backtracked on her comments about Colin Kaepernick and his national anthem protest.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has backtracked on her comments where she called San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest as “dumb” and “disrespectful,” according to Todd Ruger of cqnow.co.

“Some of you have inquired about a book interview in which I was asked how I felt about Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players who refused to stand for the national anthem,” Ginsburg said in a statement. “Barely aware of the incident or its purpose, my comments were inappropriately dismissive and harsh. I should have declined to respond.”

Earlier in the week, Ginsburg, 83, discussed the issue with Yahoo's Katie Couric and said, “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.”

• Here is what politicians have said about Colin Kaepernick's protest​

Kaepernick's protest, which a number of other NFL players and athletes have joined, is intended to raise awareness about racial injustice in America. The quarterback first sat during the national anthem during the preseason, and he has continued his protest several weeks into the regular season, taking a knee instead of sitting. 

Kapernick will start at quarterback for the 49ers on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.