Bruce Springsteen says he's okay with star quarterback Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the National Anthem at San Francisco 49ers games.
"Athletics is a difficult place to make political statements. There was the Olympics in the '60s, and obviously Muhammad Ali," the veteran rocker tells Rolling Stone's Brian Hiatt in a just-released interview.
"But sports is such an escapist field. I think when politics or personal expression is injected, it rankles people more than in other fields.
"But we're in a time where there isn't any place where these issues can be excluded. I admire Kaepernick, but it's a very difficult field to be outspoken in."
Kaepernick has been staying off his feet during the playing of the patriotic song to protest racism and the shooting of African Americans by police officers.
Springsteen's support is not surprising as "The Boss'' rarely shies away from controversy. Earlier this year, he backed out of a concert in North Carolina to show his displeasure with the Tar Heel State's HB2 law which governs the use of public bathrooms by transgender people.
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