Colin Kaepernick disappointed in Ruth Bader Ginsburg's criticism of his protest

Colin Kaepernick says he was disappointed by Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's criticism of his national anthem

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick responded to Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's comments calling his national anthem protest “dumb” and “disrespectful,” according to the Mercury News.

“It is disappointing to hear a Supreme Court justice call a protest against injustices and oppression ‘stupid, dumb’ in reference to players doing that,” Kaepernick told reporters on Thursday.

“I was reading an article and it refers to white critique of black protests and how they try to de-legitimize it by calling it ‘idiotic, dumb, stupid,’ things of that nature, so they can sidestep the real issue,” he added. “As I was reading that I saw more and more truth how this has been approached by people in power and white people in power in particular.”

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.”

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. 

Ginsburg is considered one of the Court's most reliably liberal justices. 

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

Kaepernick will start his first game of the season on Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bills.