On Monday, Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt explained that he will not kneel for our flag during the playing of the national anthem, noting of his grandmother’s success story after immigrating to the United States.
After doling out financial advice to other athletes, Tuitt said forcefully via social media, “Also I’m not kneeling for the flag and screw anybody who have a problem with that.”
“My grandmother was a immigrant from the Caribbean and age worked her a** off to bring 20 people over the right way,” he added. “She had no money and educated herself to be a nurse. She living good now.”
Also I’m not kneeling for the flag and screw anybody who have a problem with that. My grandmother was a immigrant from the Carribean and age worked her ass off to bring 20 people over the right way. She had no money and educated herself to be a nurse. She living good now.
— stephon tuitt (@DOCnation_7) July 27, 2020
Anthem kneeling first popped up in the NFL back in 2016, when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee to allegedly protest police brutality against black Americans. Kaepernick’s messaging has since included pro-communist signaling and general anti-American sentiment.
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died following a viral arrest where an officer held his knee on the 46-year-old’s neck for several minutes, the kneeling protests have picked up steam across other professional sports, such as the MLB and the WNBA. The kneeling has been tied to the radical far-left Black Lives Matter movement.
Still, some, such as Tuitt, are bucking the new normal.
On Thursday, 27-year-old Sam Coonrod of the San Francisco Giants was the only baseball player who refused to kneel during a moment honoring Black Lives Matter in Dodger Stadium.
Coonrod said his Christian faith does not align with kneeling before anyone other than God, according to TMZ Sports.
As noted by The Daily Wire, Coonrod also cited the radical left-wing ideology of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I just can’t get on board with a couple things I’ve read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean towards Marxism. And … they said some negative things about the nuclear family,” he said. “I just can’t get on board with that.”
Though he’s not a current player, legendary football coach and former tight end Mike Ditka ripped national anthem kneelers during an interview with TMZ Sports on Sunday, suggesting they get the “hell” out of our country if they can’t respect it.
“The whole kneeling thing in the NFL —you’ve got guys saying that they’re gonna do it,” TMZ asked Ditka. “I’m seeing all these baseball players now, different teams. Last night watching baseball you got the Reds kneeling, the A’s, the Giants, lots of teams are kneeling, athletes kneeling. In your league here —you’re the chairman of this thing — is that going to be allowed if the women want to take a knee during the anthem? What’s the policy on that for you guys?”
“If it was up to me I’d say no,” the former coach responded. “If you can’t respect our national anthem, get the hell out of the country. That’s the way I feel. Of course, I’m old fashioned, so I’m only going to say what I feel. I think there’s a way you protest and a way you don’t protest. You don’t protest against the flag and you don’t protest against this country who’s given you the opportunity to make a living playing a sport that you never thought would happen. So, I don’t want to hear all the crap. You wanna try it, try it. You don’t, it’s okay.”