Watch: Kelly defends Kaepernick against reporter's criticism
Chip Kelly and reporter have a back-and-forth on Kaepernick's activism (via @SakamotoRyan) pic.twitter.com/Tw0dTdVelm
— Kevin Jones (@Mr_KevinJones) September 22, 2016
San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly spent a good portion of his Thursday press conference defending quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick - the cover subject of the latest edition of Time magazine - has sparked a continued discussion over race relations, patriotism, and politics in sport, and drew the ire of one reporter.
Kelly was asked if he approves of Kaepernick speaking about his public protests immediately following team wins. The reporter, Santa Rosa Press Democrat columnist Lowell Cohn, claimed it made some teammates uncomfortable.
"I think he's asked questions about a subject and he's answering those questions," Kelly said.
He was then cut off by the reporter, who responded, "He should turn down ... he should say, 'Talk to me at another time.'"
Kelly finished by saying he supports such discussions.
"Yeah, I do. When he's asked a question, I think he should answer what his feelings are on those questions. And if you don't believe that's the thing, then maybe you shouldn't ask him those questions," Kelly said.