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White House Cancels Obama-Duterte Meeting; Documents: SS Planned More Carnage after Paris Attacks; U.S. and Russia Fail to Reach Deal on Syria; Trump Softens Rhetoric on Immigration; Kaepernick Gaining Support from Other Professional Athletes. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired September 06, 2016 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:10] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour: drama at the ASEAN summit. A coarse insult prompts a cancellation of a meeting between the Presidents of the United States and the Philippines.

CNN obtains a trove of secret documents about ISIS planning attacks against the west.

And after Donald Trump's hard line immigration speech last week, he now says he's ruled nothing out.

Hello and welcome to our viewers all around. I'm Isha Sesay. NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

The White House is canceling President Obama's meeting with the Philippine's President Rodrigo Duterte. The two were set to meet in Laos where both are attending the ASEAN summit. Officials indicated that Mr. Obama would raise concerns about the Philippine controversial war on drugs during that conversation. Mr. Duterte scoffed at that and lashed out at Mr. Obama during a speech Monday.

The U.S. leader will still be keeping busy at the summit. He's expected to address the people of Laos on the bloody legacy of American bombings during the Vietnam War.

Our CNN Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens joins us now from the summit in Vientiane, Laos. Andrew -- good to have you with us.

Let's start with the cancelled meeting between President Obama and his Filipino counterpart. How much of a blow is this to the relationship between the two countries?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: Well, it certainly doesn't help -- Let's put it like that, Isha. It's a very delicate situation for the U.S. and for the Philippines. And when you have this sort of bombast coming from the President of the Philippines and some very, very personal insults aimed at the U.S. President it does make things a lot more difficult. And as you point out, the U.S. President has cancelled the first bilateral meeting between himself and the President of the Philippines since his election only about two months ago. So it does complicate it.

It's already a very complicated situation for the Philippines as they try to deal with an encroaching China. China has laid claims to vast parts of the South China Sea which include islands the Philippines says are theirs and that has been backed up by a court in The Hague.

On the other side of that China wields a very, very big carrot in economic aid. Mr. Duterte has said that he is prepared to talk to China to have bilateral meetings with China. He sent a former president of the Philippines really to feel out the ground on that.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is getting an enhanced military presence in the Philippines as well. They're upgrading five locations for the positioning of U.S. military troops there. So it's a very, very difficult and delicate situation there certainly not helped by the outspoken president.

It is an extraordinary outburst, Isha but you have to consider that he has also aimed his vitriol at the Pope and remember, the Philippines is a very, very Catholic country; and also Secretary-General of the United Nations. So this is not new what the Philippines' president is doing, aiming and really using very, very strong and colorful language at other world leaders.

SESAY: Yes, colorful indeed.

Andrew, staying with the issue of the South China Sea -- you mentioned China and its economic clout in the region. With that in mind will the issue of the South China Sea and China's expansion, if you will, will it be undertaken in any meaningful way in discussions at the summit?

STEVENS: Unlikely, Isha. Aides to Mr. Duterte about two weeks ago said that they did not want to raise the issue of the South China Sea at the ASEAN summit. You've got to put this in context with ASEAN. ASEAN is a club. It's a non-binding club and the members here do not seek any form of controversy at all. Any disagreements are usually swept under the carpet at ASEAN.

And there is a feeling about China on both sides over their claims on the South China Sea. Vietnam which is a member of ASEAN has reacted very, very strongly to encroachment by China on what it sees as its territorial waters. Cambodia, on the other hand, Lao, had been supporting China. So there are these divisions. It's very unlikely though to come out certainly in public at least here in Laos.

[00:05:06] SESAY: Andrew Stevens joining us there from Vientiane, Laos. Andrew -- appreciate the insight. Thank you so much.

Now there are some stunning new details about ISIS' plans to strike in the west. CNN has obtained nearly 100,000 pages of internal documents and never-before-seen photos from the investigation into last year's horrific Paris attacks. They reveal a sophisticated web of operatives fanned out across Europe bent on more terror.

After months on the story, CNN's senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: November 13th, ten ISIS operatives attacked Paris targeting bars, restaurants, a concert hall and a stadium, shooting as many people as they could before blowing themselves up. By the end of the massacre, the worst terrorist attack in Europe in a decade, 130 people were dead.

Now for the first time, CNN has gained access to thousands of pages of documents and photos from the internal European investigation which shed new light on the sophisticated network ISIS uses to coordinate terror attacks across Europe.

The documents reveal another suspected terrorist never before made public, who investigators linked to the cell that carried out the Paris attacks. He was on the loose in Europe for more than six months. Other ISIS operatives are right now believed to be living among ordinary citizens in Europe plotting other strikes directed by senior ISIS handlers in Syria according to multiple sources.

Within days of the shocking rampage in Paris, police learned that two of the three suicide bombers at the Stade de France stadium entered Europe by posing as Syrian refugees. These surveillance photos never seen before publicly show the bombers as they approach their target. This is the moment they detonate their devices.

But according to the documents, two more men were part of the ISIS cell. They traveled the same refugee route as the suicide bombers, blending in with thousands of people from war-torn countries. Their names are Adel Haddadi (ph) and Mohamed Usman (ph). They were eventually arrested and records of their capture and interrogation obtained by CNN show how ISIS supported the attackers throughout their mission.

This is their story based on multiple interrogations of Haddadi. Early October, six weeks before the Paris attacks, the documents show their journey began in Raqqa, Syria, the capital of the self-declared ISIS caliphate. The men didn't know each other's real names or what their mission would be.

According to the documents, Haddadi later tells investigators he only knew they were being sent to France to do "something for the good of God". Much of their journey was directed by a shadowy ISIS leader in Syria known only as Abu Ahmad who arrange meetings, cell phones, money and transportation for them.

Jean-Charles Brisard is a French expert on terrorism. We asked him to analyze the documents obtained by CNN.

JEAN-CHARLES BRISARD, FRENCH EXPERT ON TERRORISM: Abu Ahmad is clearly an ISIS operative. He is key in sending those individuals, the foreigners into the Paris attacks because he is the one who recruited them, who funds them, who trained them, who provided electronic devices to them, telephones. He was always in contact with them. WARD: According to the transcripts of interrogations Haddadi and

Usman along with the two Paris attackers traveled from Raqqa across the Turkish border on to the coastal city of Izmir, switching vehicles picking up cash passed from one smuggler to the next along the way.

They received instructions from their handler in Syria through encrypted apps such as Telegram and What's App. Throughout their journey they are only given enough money and information to get to the next stop.

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: ISIS is accelerating its international attack planning. It's increasingly sophisticated in the way it does this. It's set up an intricate, logistical support system for the terrorist cells throughout Europe.

WARD: In the middle of the night, the team makes the treacherous crossing to Greece in a boat filled with dozens of refugees. They are picked up by the Greek navy along the way. The two bombers who would eventually attack the Paris stadium make it through and start moving steadily north toward their target.

But Haddadi and Usman's fake Syrian passports are discovered. They're arrested and their money is taken. They are held in Greece for about a month. Greek officials would not say why they were released but authorities believe that delay was significant. They would not have a chance to become part of the Paris attacks.

[00:10:00] Haddadi tells investigators they contact their ISIS handler Abu Ahmad who arranges another 2,000 euros for them.

Flush with cash, the pair continued along the refugee route. As they work their way across Europe, Usman identified by investigators as a bomb maker from a Pakistani terror group passes the hours doing something strikingly un-Islamic, looking at porn. Documents show he visited almost two dozen porn sites on his phone.

November 14th, the day after the Paris attacks, Haddadi and Usman arrive in Salzburg, Austria. They apply for asylum and end up in this refugee center where they stay for weeks.

According to CNN sources authorities now believe that Haddadi and Usman were not only part of the same terror cell as the Paris bombers but also that they were planning another attack. The documents show that they were in contact with people in several European countries and were researching travel to France.

Investigators believe they were waiting for a third man to join them, a mysterious ISIS operative called Abid Tabaouni. Tabaouni has never been publicly named until now. Like Usman and Haddadi he traveled from Syria along the refugee route carrying a phone number linked to the terror cell of the ring leader of the Paris attacks according to the documents, as well as a photo of Islamic state fighters standing before their flag.

December 10th, nearly a month after the Paris attacks, Tabaouni finally arrives at the refugee center where Usman and Haddadi are. Later the very same day, police raid the center. Usman and Haddadi are arrested.

Here's what happened next according to the documents. In the scramble Haddadi tried unsuccessfully to get rid of his SIM card. Tabaouni is nowhere to be seen. Haddadi denies knowing him but investigators find this -- Tabaouni's cell phone charging right beside Haddadi's bed. It has Haddadi's phone number saved in it. Also in that phone a photo taken just 30 minutes before the raid that shows Tabaouni sitting on a bed in the refugee center right next to where Haddadi and Usman slept.

BRISARD: We can assume that Tabaouni was also part of the same plot and was instructed to carry out an attack.

WARD: From the time he slipped away last December, Tabaouni has been a wanted man, according to CNN sources, who also confirm he was finally arrested in July. The documents show this is the Facebook page Tabaouni had on his phone and in recent months it appears he was publicly posting updates from Belgium.

Investigators are now analyzing 1,600 pages of data from his phone and sources tell CNN they are moving to extradite him to Austria and to tie him to Haddadi and Usman and the Paris attackers.

Are you concerned that there may be many others who use the same route who you just didn't know about?

BRISARD: Yes, we've seen that in the recent weeks. Several of them, individuals who carry out individual attacks, inspired attacks were coming back from Syria using the same route.

WARD: So there's a possibility that there are many more that you just don't know about?

BRISARD: There is a high possibility.

WARD: The documents show Haddadi's phone has also proven to be a treasure trove for investigators revealing an ISIS network that fanned out through southern and northern Europe.

He had dozens of contacts. Some gave advice on crossing borders and evading the law. One tells Haddadi that he was able to sneak into France by hiding in the bathroom of a train.

December 15th, five days after the raid, ISIS handler Abu Ahmad reaches out to his operatives, Haddadi and Usman perhaps wondering about their silence. "How are you," he writes. "What's become of you?" There is no reply.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Joining us now is Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is also a former terrorism finance analyst for the U.S. Treasury. Thank you so much for joining us.

My colleague Clarissa Ward's report shines a light on the vast support network ISIS has in place across Europe to aid their plans of launching terror attacks. What more can you tell us about the level of sophistication of these networks in terms of how they are organized and how they operate?

JONATHAN SCHANZER, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Well, from what we have seen from this remarkable report issued today, ISIS has a very sophisticated network, one where they have very good operational secrecy. They are working through encrypted apps. They have a system whereby the operatives don't know each other's first names and don't even know what their ultimate objective might be.

[00:15:02] They also seem to have infiltrated vast parts of Europe meaning that they have the ability to carry out attacks across a very large swath of territory. So in short, what we have seen is a real muscular terrorism capability on the part of ISIS and I think it is surprising many analysts out there how advanced it is.

SESAY: Are you as surprised about the level of sophistication and vastness?

SCHANZER: Well, the vastness doesn't surprise me very much. A lot of analysts at the time of the Paris terrorist attacks were taking place -- a lot of us believed that there was a larger network that was not activated. This of course now turns out to be true.

But I think the extent to which this has the ability to reach deep into Europe across Paris into the U.K., into the Netherlands -- these are the sorts of things that are still somewhat surprising if not shocking.

SESAY: It's also clear that large amounts of money are being moved from ISIS operatives in Syria to operatives in Europe. We have some sense of where the money is coming from, illicit activities and the like. But how are they able to move it successfully into the hands of terrorists on the European mainland.

SCHANZER: Well, I mean illicit finance is not difficult to move. You can deal with bulk cash. That is a very common method of moving money. We don't require significant amount when you look at the sort of attacks that were taking place. It's in the low hundreds of thousands, I mean that was the estimated cost of what might have transpired in Paris. Perhaps, it was even a million dollars but that is still not a lot of money.

But then you also have money laundering and other means to move funds outside of the formal financial sector. And even when cash is moving in the formal financial sector in the banks it's extremely difficult to catch when you are dealing in small sums.

SESAY: And with that being the reality, how do you stop it? Is there a way you can stop it?

SCHANZER: Well, I mean, I think what we have right now is a fairly good sense of how dedicated European authorities are to trying to stop the threat of ISIS terrorist attacks. It looks as if they are focusing on individuals right now. And I think that is the smart play. The illicit financial system will continue to churn. There are means to stop it. But it is really a cat and mouse game. So I think the smart play is to continue to focus on the individuals and to look at those who are trying to work out of Syria, out of Iraq and trying to project into Europe.

SESAY: Jonathan Schanzer, really great to speak to you. Thank you so much for the insight. Very much appreciated.

SCHANZER: My pleasure.

SESAY: All right.

Turning now to some airline trouble. British Airways is having problems with its check-in system causing lengthy lines and delays at several airports. It's unclear how many flights are affected. Passengers say the airline told them the system failure had been going on for hours and was worldwide. The airline has apologized and says it is working to fix the problem.

The U.S. and Russia are locked in a standoff on the Syrian conflict. How an icy stare down says it all -- next.

And a softer, different Donald Trump? Hillary Clinton doesn't think so.

[00:18:30]

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with you.

More tropical storm warnings still left in place across parts of the northeastern U.S.; about seven million people still underneath the same warnings that we saw yesterday. And notice, the storm system itself really hasn't moved much away from the coastline. In fact it actually has closed in just a little bit since the last 24 hours and bringing some more cloud cover around parts of the northeast and some scattered showers for merely the immediate coastal communities across this region but not a tremendous heavy rainmaker in any sense.

It will meander over this region over the next 36 or so hours and we think it will probably begin to move away from this region and improve the conditions going in for the late week.

We get a little shot of fall beginning to come in. Some autumn temperatures in part of say Minneapolis, Chicago, and Kansas City as we go in towards midweek there. Winnipeg will go with 19; Chicago still hanging on to summer heat at 33 degrees; New York City, we're getting cloudy conditions in place, around 28 degrees across the city there.

And watching the latest hurricane that has developed -- this is Hurricane Newton. It is actually a strong Category 1 borderline Category 2. Models' view indicate this will potentially get up to a Category 2 right before landfall around Cabo San Lucas in less than 12 or so hours. And as the storm comes in, of course, it could be really packing a significant punch when you're talking about a heavily populated place and also an area with a lot of tourists this time of year as the storm moves ashore and it could potentially bring in heavy rainfall around the southwestern U.S.

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SESAY: Welcome back, everyone.

The U.S. and Russian presidents have failed to reach a ceasefire in Syria during the G-20 talks in China. Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin were pictured Monday locked in an unfriendly stare clearly with little love lost between them. Mr. Obama described the meeting as blunt and candid but also called it productive. Mr. Putin echoed that sentiment saying a deal could come in the next few days.

Joining us now from Washington is CNN global affairs analyst and "Daily Beast" contributing writer Kimberly Dozier. Kimberly -- great to have you with us.

Now following talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, President Obama talked of gaps of trust between the two governments hampering a deal on Syria. At this stage, do you see any room for compromise?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, to hear the Russian president say it, it sounds like they are very close and they could come to an agreement by the end of this week. But of course from Vladimir Putin's point of view he wants his public back home and also the public writ large to see Russia as the one willing to compromise and the U.S. as the one obstructing some sort of humanitarian arrangement.

Meanwhile what's happening on the ground is that Russian-backed Syrian forces by the Bashar al Assad regime are attacking rebel-held parts of Aleppo and other areas gaining back territory that they'd lost and creating facts on the ground that are going to be very hard to turn around at some point when, say, the U.N.-brokered talks do get back up to speed, which at this point, doesn't look like might even happen in the next month or so.

SESAY: So skeptics, they would say how is a deal, a workable deal even possible being implemented given the number of parties operating on the ground in Syria, the number of different factions fighting?

DOZIER: Well, there are a couple of different deals in play here. There's the one just to get humanitarian aid into parts of Syria that are without food, without water.

Then there's the larger U.N.-brokered talks which would have all of those different parties sitting down and discussing an eventual political solution which the U.S. said can't include Bashar al Assad but Russia said it's probably going to have to include him for at least a six-month to year-long bridging period. So those are the talks that are likely to extend for months that have broken down so many times before.

[00:25:01] Some have said the Obama administration would just at this point in this late stage of the Obama presidency just like to get a humanitarian deal in place before they pass this on to the next president.

SESAY: And given that Bashar al Assad is looking stronger than ever, thanks to Russia's support, doesn't Russia have the U.S. over a barrel and ultimately in a position where a compromise may have to be contemplated if that long-term deal is to be achieved?

DOZIER: Well, the U.S. is already compromising more than some U.S. military officials had wanted to see. They had wanted to see more strong backing of rebel groups on the ground and instead there has been a signaling of willing to work with Russia.

For some of the Kurdish rebel groups on the ground they are worried that the U.S. is going to make a deal with Russia and also cut a deal with Turkey because meanwhile while we have these diplomatic negotiations going on, Turkey has staged an incursion into northern Syria and finally cut ISIS off but at the same time also beaten back Kurdish rebels who have been cooperating with the United States and in Turkey's view, threatening them by forming a similar autonomous region. Those Kurdish rebels just got a visit by top U.S. official Brent McGuirk over the weekend so he could reassure them yes, we are working with Turkey, we're working with Russia but we are not abandoning you.

It's a very complex map.

SESAY: It certainly is.

Kimberly Dozier, we appreciate having your insight to help us make sense of it. Thank you.

DOZIER: Thank you.

SESAY: Time for a quick break now. Is Donald Trump backing away from his tough stance on immigration? Why he is now saying he won't rule out anything -- details next.

And Clinton speaks out about those classified e-mails that keep dogging her campaign. What she's saying now. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:00] SESAY: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles, I'm Isha Sesay. The headlines this hour.

Barack Obama is the first U.S. president to visit Laos. He's there for the ASEAN Summit. He'll also address the people of Laos. He's expected to talk about the legacy the Vietnam war has had on the country. And U.S. official say he'll announce $90 million in aid to help clear millions of unexploded bombs the U.S. dropped.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is calling on his military to bolster its nuclear weapons. The country fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast Monday morning. Less than two weeks ago, North Korea also test fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

ISIS is claiming responsibility for a suicide car bombing that killed at least seven people in Baghdad. Security officials say 14 others are wounded. The attack targeted a gathering of Shiite Muslims in the Karrada neighborhood. That's the same area where July attack killed 300 people.

Security fears are heightened in Afghanistan's capital after three bombings struck the city, Monday. Taliban terrorists said they were behind two of the blast said the Afghan Ministry of Defense in Kabul. Two dozen people were killed and nearly 100 were wounded. It's unclear how many people were hurt in the third bombing.

SESAY: Now U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appears to be changing his position on undocumented immigrants yet again. Trump had vow to carry out mass deportations of millions of immigrants here illegally in the United States. Making that promise a cornerstone of his immigration policy. Now he refuses to be pinned down on the issue.

CNN politics reporter Sara Murray has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's muddling his immigration stance even further today. Now saying a decision about granting legal status to undocumented immigrants will come some time down the road.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We're going to make that decision into the future. OK?

Good question I'm glad you asked that. That decision will be made.

MURRAY: As Trump and his team try to win over voters in the final 64- day stretch. They're trying to water down parts of last week's hard- line immigration speech.

TRUMP: For those here illegally today, who are seeking legal status, they will have one route and one route only, to return home and apply for re-entry.

MURRAY: And give the candidate some wiggle room in dealing with undocumented immigrants.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Donald Trump as he expressed in one of his interviews recently would find it very, very difficult to throw out a family that has been here, you know, for 15 years and they have three children, to whom are citizens. And that is not the kind of America he wants.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, TRUMP CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Once you turn off the jobs magnet -- jobs and benefit magnet, then we'll see where we are. And we don't know where will be. We don't know who will be left. MURRAY: Today in the battleground state of Ohio, Trump is also taking advantage of the Labor Day holiday to bring his economic argument to union leaders.

TRUMP: Ohio is having its jobs just sucked out of it going to Mexico and other countries.

MURRAY: His day on the trail almost resembling a traditional politician as he held a round table, popped by a local diner and visited one of the largest fairs in the Buckeye State.

TRUMP: What an incredible group. Thank you, everybody.

MURRAY: All of this as Trump is betting his surest path to victory comes from hammering his Democratic opponent.

TRUMP: She didn't have the energy to go to Louisiana. And she didn't have the energy to go to Mexico.

MURRAY: But Trump's best chance to take on Clinton is sure to come on the debate stage. Events the hard to pin down candidate now says he wouldn't miss.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What could change your mind?

TRUMP: Hurricanes, natural disaster. I expect to do all three. I think it's an important element of what we're doing. I think you have an obligation to do the debates.

MURRAY (on-camera): Now Donald Trump has played coy on a number of occasions about whether he would actually show up for all of those debates. Those comments are the most definitive we have from the G.O.P. nominee that he will be there, ready to take the stage against Hillary Clinton.

And in case, you needed any indication that the candidates would be sprinting to the finish, leading up to those debates, Trump will be hitting not one but two battleground states on Tuesday, North Carolina and Virginia.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Well, Hillary Clinton also visits North Carolina, Tuesday, as well as Florida for the first time in this presidential campaign. Clinton is now traveling on a plane that also carries her press corps.

Reporters asked her whether the FBI interview about her private email server showed a casual attitude about handling classified material. She had said I do not recall 39 times in that FBI interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I went in to the State Department understanding classification. I had been on the Senate Armed Services Committee for years before I was secretary of state. I take classification seriously. The fact I couldn't remember certain meetings, whether or not they had occurred doesn't in any way affect the commitment that I had and still have to the treatment of classified material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Well, Clinton also rejected the idea that Donald Trump is softening his stance on immigration. She told "ABC News," quote, it is clear his advisers are scrambling to try to present a new and different Donald Trump, but the fact is there is no new or different Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Time for a quick break now.

And President Obama is weighing in on the Colin Kaepernick controversy.

And a U.S. soccer star is showing her support for the NFL quarterback by refusing to rise for the national anthem. That story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Welcome back, everyone.

NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is gaining support from other professional athletes. U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe took a knee during the national anthem at a game Sunday to show solidarity with the San Francisco player.

Kaepernick has recently refused to stand for the anthem to protest the treatment of African-Americans by police.

Kaepernick is also getting support from the U.S. president. Barack Obama says "The quarterback is exercising his constitutional right by not standing for the national anthem."

Well, joining me now is entertainment journalist (INAUDIBLE).

(INAUDIBLE), my friend, good to have you here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to be here.

SESAY: So Megan Rapinoe, the first non-black professional athlete to stand or kneel with Colin Kaepernick.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

SESAY: How surprised are you by this development?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not surprised. I'm actually, you know, the future is with Colin Kaepernick and the athletes that are going to follow suit. Because what he said and what he is not standing for has nothing to do -- let me be very clear, because we know how words get twisted -- has nothing to do with the military, has nothing to do with patriotism. It's actually as American as, well, I would say apple pie, but that's really (INAUDIBLE) sweet potato pie and collard greens. He is American as that, because it's a dissent. And he is asking America to be better, to actually uphold its creed and what it says it stands for.

If I was a soldier I would think that him asking America to be that shining light, that shining city upon a hill that those soldiers, brave men and women go and fight for, I would be all in favor for that, because he's asking and saying that America is not treating my minorities the way it's supposed to. And until they do, or until it starts to happen, he's not going the stand for the anthem.

And I think other athletes when they hear his message are going to be on board. So I applaud him and I applaud her. Because you can't say she's not a patriot and you can't say that she's un-American.

[00:40:00] SESAY: Why can't you say that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She plays for the national team. She actually goes out there and wins world cups and gold medals for the United States.

SESAY: The NFL and the American football is as American as sweet potato pie --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Collard greens.

SESAY: And collard greens.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SESAY: So why isn't he afforded that. He's American. He plays in the national pastime, the nationals -- why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's lazy and it's easy to cloud the message by saying he's against the flag and he's against the troops. Never once did he say that. He's actually come out and said I have friends in the military. I have friends that are police. I support. I applaud those brave men and women that fight. This is about police brutality against minorities that he feels is unjust.

SESAY: Listen to what the president said, because he weighed in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My understanding at least is that he is exercising his constitutional right to make a statement. I think there is a long history of sports figures doing so. But I don't doubt his sincerity based on what I've heard. I think he cares about some real legitimate issues that have to be talked about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SESAY: Others would say the president weighing in polarizes the issue further, inflames the issue further.

You say what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I disagree with the people that say it inflames the issue. We are talking the commander-in-chief. So if we want to talk military or patriotism, he is in charge of the Armed Forces by his job status and job title.

But what I would like to focus on is what he said in that speech. There is a long history of athletes especially black athletes: Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics with the Black Power salute.

We've had athletes before fight -- fight for equality, make stands for equality. Jim Brown has done this. And the flip side of that is we, as Americans, have thrown, you know, verbal stones at Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan for not publicly coming out and saying things, you know, that were hot button issues.

Now we have athletes that are starting to do that, and we have a problem with it. Now we say, well, you're a rich quarterback, go sit down somewhere. We can't have it both ways.

SESAY: Will there be more athletes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there will be.

SESAY: You think there will be more --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of his own team mate actually knelt down with him in the last game that they played. Their last pre-season game. And I think more athletes are going to follow suit.

You've already got basketball players who were at the SP's for Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul standing up saying that there needs to be some change. You've got Demarcus cousins. It is hometown of Alabama actually trying to bridge the gap.

SESAY: There's more to come.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's more to come.

SESAY: We'll keep the conversation going next hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope so.

SESAY: (INAUDIBLE), thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

SESAY: And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.

A live edition of "World Sport" with Kate Riley is up next.

Then I will be back with another hour of news from around the world. You're watching CNN.

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(WORLD SPORT)