Several Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus told Breitbart News on Tuesday that they disapproved of the NFL players protesting during the playing of the national anthem ahead of games.
Rep. Tom Garrett (R-VA) didn’t want to give away the comments he plans to make in the coming days.
“I’m going to comment next Monday when I do 10 reasons to stand for the national anthem on the floor of the House,” Garrett said.
Garrett, who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said he believes in the right to protest but questions the motivation behind the “take a knee” protest that began in 2016 when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did so during the national anthem to protest racism in the United States.
“I’m a Constitutionalist at my core and I recognize people’s right to dissent and that manifests itself in many forms,” he said. “But there’s a fundamental misunderstanding about what this country is all about by anyone who thinks that they’re not fortunate to have been born here.”
The latest round of controversy began at a campaign rally in Alabama on Friday where President Donald Trump expressed his opinion on the matter.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He is fired. He’s fired!’” Trump said.
Trump said the protests were a “total disrespect of our heritage” and “a total disrespect of everything that we stand for.”
Trump continued to stoke the controversy on Twitter.
“If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “Fire or suspend!”
Trump said that NFL attendance and television ratings were “way down,” suggesting that the protests from players could harm the sport.
Several NFL owners, however, have sided with their players, saying they have a right to protest.
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