After hundreds of NFL players decided to publicly disrespect the American flag on Sunday, one player went out of his way to take a patriotic stand — and it left his coach fuming.
NFL head coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to wait inside the locker room during “The Star-Spangled Banner” — but that didn’t sit well with offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, who went to the field alone and saluted the flag.
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The patriotic gesture by Villanueva, a former Army Ranger that served three tours in Afghanistan, left Tomlin steaming.
Addressing the media after his team’s overtime loss to the Chicago Bears, Tomlin took a swipe at the Bronze Star recipient.
“I was looking for 100 percent participation — we were gonna be respectful of our football team,” Tomlin said.
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Tomlin had said that before the kickoff Sunday, he held a team meeting and discussed with his players not come out of the locker room for the playing of the national anthem.
Tomlin said he intended to have the team focus on the game, and implied that by saluting the flag Villanueva was showing disloyalty to his teammates.
“Many of them felt like something needed to be done. I asked those guys to discuss it and whatever they discussed that we have 100 percent participation or we do nothing. They discussed it for an appropriate length of time and they couldn’t come to an understanding, so they chose to remove themselves from it,” Tomlin told the media. “They were not going to be disrespectful in the anthem so they chose not to participate, but at the same time many of them were not going to accept the words of the president.”
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Villanueva was clearly not happy with the team’s decision, and decided to make his own protest — by coming out alone and placing his hand over his heart.
This isn’t the first time Villanueva has taken a stand for the flag, either. The offensive tackle had previously slammed the protests inspired by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick as something that “sends the wrong message”
In 2016, Villanueva said, “I don’t know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that’s providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year… when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year.”
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“I will be the first one to hold hands with Colin Kaepernick and do something about the way minorities are being treated in the United States, the injustice that is happening with police brutality, the justice system, inequalities in pay,” Villanueva told ESPN. “You can’t do it by looking away from the people that are trying to protect our freedom and our country.”
Trump himself reacted to the players protest by blasting the disrespect of America —
If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL,or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
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…our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
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