Swans star Lance Franklin and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull have led the chorus of opposition to a call for AFL and NRL stars to boycott the national anthem at this weekend’s grand finals.

Boxer and former rugby league star Anthony Mundine has urged Australians to make a statement of support for the indigenous community during the anthems at the MCG and ANZ Stadium.

The idea stems from a decision by San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other American NFL players to kneel during the US anthem to protest against racial inequality and injustice.

“Been saying this for years!” Mundine posted to Facebook. “The anthem was written in late 1700s where blackfullas were considered fauna (animals) Advance Australia Fair as in white not fair as in fair go … All players aboriginal & non aboriginal should boycott the anthem & start changing Australia’s ignorant mentality … lets move forward together yo.”

Franklin slammed the boycott proposal as “stupid”, while Mr Turnbull agreed it would be a divisive measure on what were otherwise days to celebrate the inclusive nature of sport.

“First I’ve heard of it,” Franklin said at the AFL grand final parade in Melbourne on Friday.

“Personally I think it’s pretty stupid really, it’s the Australian national anthem, it’s a part of our sport, our history.”

Franklin, who will spearhead the Swans’ tilt at a premiership on Saturday, said there was “no chance” he would follow Mundine’s advice.

Mundine later countered that Franklin, who is also Aboriginal, was ”thinking for the system and not thinking for his people”.

Swans star Lance Franklin talks to the media during the AFL Grand Final Parade in Melbourne on Friday.

“Everyone’s entitled to do what they want to do and do what they’ve got to do,” Mundine said. “They’ve got to deal with themselves and their own conscience.

“Like I said, people are conditioned, they’re conditioned enough to have the tunnel vision and not to think straight.

“He’s thinking for the system and not thinking for his people and his heritage and his ancestors and the history of what’s happened, the dark history of what’s happened to his people.

“I’m a militant brother, I can’t speak for Lance or anybody else. If I knew what I know now when I was in the grand final of ‘96 or 97 or ’99, I wouldn’t be standing at all, but that’s me.”

Been saying this for years ! The anthem was written in late 1700s where blackfullas were considered fauna… https://t.co/blGRdGyXJa

— . (@Anthony_Mundine) September 29, 2016

Mr Turnbull, asked on Melbourne radio whether Mundine’s calls were “divisive”, answered: “I couldn’t agree with you more.”

“Both codes, AFL and NRL, work hard to be inclusive and embrace modern Australia and all of its diversity and this is a time when we all come together,” Mr Turnbull told 3AW.

“Everyone should sing. Those like myself, who are perhaps not the best singers, should perhaps sing quietly so as not to ruin the experience for neighbours. But I think everyone should sing and everyone should just be proud about their country, our country, and the fact that we can come together in sport.

Brisbane Broncos players Justin Hodges, Corey Parker and Sam Thaiday sing the Australian national anthem during last year’s NRL Grand Final at ANZ Stadium.

“Sport is a really wonderful, inclusive institution in Australia. It divides us in the sense that we back different teams, but only in a pretty good natures way, but above all it pulls us together and I think it’s wonderful for that reason and that’s why we should all sing.”

Last week, former league players Larry Corowa and Joe Williams also called on indigenous players in Sunday’s NRL decider to not stand for the anthem.

“Imagine if a couple of guys did it on grand final day — what a powerful message it would send to white Australia,” Williams told Rugby League Week.

“It would bring all the racism that’s in the closet to the surface — the racism we have to put up with every day.”

“The way we are treated in shops, the way people look at us on the street and the way the government treats us.

“It’s time it stopped. And our footballers are role models and the ideal ones to bring about change.”

San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid kneel during the national anthem before an NFL game in September.

Many American NFL players have opted to knee during the US national anthem as a protest against the justice system and as a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

“This is because I’m seeing things happen to people that don’t have a voice,” Kaepernick said, “people that don’t have a platform to talk and have their voices heard, and affect change.

“I’m in the position where I can do that and I’m going to do that for people that can’t.”