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Veterans Have Different Takes On National Anthem Solidarity Debate

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, on one knee, locking arms with his players before Monday Night Football in Arizona was a stunning show of solidarity.
But this was different. The display of unity came before the national anthem. When it came time for the Star Spangled Banner the teams stood and locked arms as a massive American flag covered the field.

The dramatic scene played out after a slew of Sunday football games where players kneeled or didn't come to the field at all for the national anthem. The mass acts of defiance came in the wake of President Trump's comments on Friday.

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"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners when someone disrespects our flag, get that son of a bitch off the field right now?"

Veterans gathering to watch Monday night football in Sun Valley had some surprisingly different takes on how this is all playing out.

"God bless Trump. But – I think he was kind of unorthodox in this thing. We got major issues going on. We got North Korea, we got a couple of major bills going through. I don't think this was the proper time to pick a fight with the NFL," Veteran Jerry Nerren said.

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Another veteran who chose to remain anonymous had this to say:

"When a soldier comes home that flag is over his coffin. Well I don't appreciate people walking on it, burning it or nothing else – you may have well just spit in that soldier's face."

Even Magic Johnson weighed in on the controversy at Lakers Media Day Monday:

"I think that all these players are exercising their right. The president should be focusing in on the issues at hand."

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