Former Navy SEAL Jesse Ventura Supports Colin Kaepernick’s Anthem Protest

“That’s why I served my country, so that you have the freedom to protest.”

A lot of prominent people have publicly ripped Colin Kaepernick for his refusal to stand for the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racial inequity in the United States. In the past 24 hours, the actors James Woods called him a “dirtbag” and a “POS” and Iowa congressman Steve King said he’s “sympathetic to ISIS.”

Former wrestling superstar and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura has a different take. Ventura, unlike Woods and King, served in the military and sees nothing wrong with what Kaepernick is doing. In fact, he celebrates it.

Ventura has a history of opposing sanctioned displays of patriotism. As he mentions in the video, he vetoed a bill as governor that would have required all school children to say the Pledge of Allegiance. “Governments should not mandate patriotism, governments earn patriotism,” he says. 

As for the national anthem, Ventura isn’t a big fan. In 2011, after a federal court dismissed his lawsuit against the TSA, Ventura went on a rant that included this declaration: “I will never stand for a national anthem again.”