At this point, nearly everyone in the sports world has had the opportunity to weigh in on Colin Kaepernick and his decision to remain seated during the national anthem. On Monday, Kaepernick's former head coach, Jim Harbaugh, was asked about the quarterback's choice during his weekly Michigan press conference, and the coach had this to say on his feelings (h/t MLive.com).
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"I acknowledge his right to do that, but I don't respect the motivation or the action."
Immediately, Harbaugh was caught in the firestorm, as he was roundly criticized for the snippet on a failure to respect Kaepernick's "motivation" beyond his decision. Within moments, Harbaugh then issued this apology on Twitter:
I apologize for misspeaking my true sentiments. To clarify, I support Colin's motivation. It's his method of action that I take exception to
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) August 29, 2016
It remains clear that Harbaugh does not agree with Kaepernick's stance, though it should be noted that he walked back the statement that was clearly taken as disrespectful. Kaepernick has been very clear as to the motives behind his actions, including various explanations behind his thinking in an articulate manner, and while Harbaugh has every right to disagree, the initial statement could easily be seen as inflammatory.
Jim Harbaugh won't be the last person caught up in controversy regarding a response to Colin Kaepernick, but at least he took the step to immediately clarify and, in this case, apologize for his initial tone.
