WATCH: Obama defends Kaepernick 'exercising his constitutional right' to not stand for anthem

President Obama on Monday weighed in on the Colin Kaepernick controversy and said that the athlete had every right to not stand during the national anthem as a protest against police violence.

"He's exercising his constitutional right to make a statement," Obama said. "There's a long history of sports figures doing so."

Obama did hedge a bit in his support for Kaepernick, however, and said that the way the quarterback was making his protest might isolate some of the people whom he's trying to reach with his message.

"When it comes to the flag and the national anthem and the meaning that holds to our men and women in uniform and those who fought for us, that is a tough thing for them to get past, to then hear what his deeper concerns are," he said.

Check out the full clip below.