Posted on 09/25/2017 1:54:44 PM PDT by markomalley
Matt Light had no problem with fans booing Patriots players when they knelt during the national anthem yesterday.
The former Patriots left tackle who was Tom Brady’s blindside protector on three Super Bowl championship teams said he walked away from the game “ashamed” after 16 Pats players took a knee.
“If you think that it’s OK to take a knee during our national anthem and disrespect openly the national anthem, you are wrong,” Light said. “I don’t care if you have a ‘but what about’ or a ‘it’s because of,’ that doesn’t’ matter.”
The anthem kneeling “would have never happened during my time,” Light said. “As a guy that’s been there and helped set up the Patriot Way so they can walk in there and do what they do, it’s beyond disheartening. It’s the first time I’ve ever been ashamed to be a Patriot. And I promise you I’m not the only one.”
No one on the Texans appeared to kneel, and given how tightly Bill Belichick has always run his ship, Light said he was surprised this would happen on his watch.
“Nobody can force anybody to do anything in a situation like that. If he chooses to do it he’s going to do it,” Light said. “But I’m going to tell you this much, with the amount of preparation and attention to detail and all the things that happen in that organization, I’m really surprised that it wasn’t dealt with so it didn’t get to that point.”
Light said of the protest, “We’ve never been those people. On the door going out it says ‘ignore the noise.’ It says ‘ignore the hype.’ It says ‘manage expectations.’ And it also says ‘speak for yourself.’ If that is not the Patriot Way anymore, then I am very disheartened and very upset. I’m also not saying that I’ll never be a Patriots fan. What I’m saying is I’m very ashamed.”
Light said he sat with a 91-year old veteran and the wife of a slain SEAL Team 6 member who was at her first NFL game.
“His wife had to sit at her first NFL game and watch what these men chose to do. Her husband died, gave his life up so that they could do that,” Light said. “That’s the reality that these so-called men don’t understand. Is it about their cause or is it about them? If it was about their cause, I could come up with a million different ways for them to really truly change things. If it’s about them, well … you see what happens. The collateral damage is widespread.
“They obviously didn’t think about anybody other than themselves.”
At the very least, they should stop calling themselves the “Patriots.”
Which NFL teams have the most player arrests? Bengals, Broncos among longest rap sheets since 2000
Updated May 12, 2017
NFL players have been arrested 855 times since 2000. That includes 215 DUI charges, 99 drug charges, 96 domestic violence cases and 71 assaults. It even includes two murders.
But which teams have had their players arrested the most? The following list was compiled based on stats reported on USA Today, and goes in order from least to most arrests while a player was currently employed by the team.
(AP PHOTO)
http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2017/05/nfl_arrests_which_teams_have_t.html
"One of my favorite things to do is sing the national anthem. I think about my dad, my uncles, my cousins, both grandfathers who fought in the Vietnam war. I think about how my grandfather paw paw Tim would ask me to sing this song for him every time I saw him and how he would make me turn the other way to sing it so he could just weep and cry as hard as he wanted because it meant so much to him. I think about all of our troops I got to visit with and spend time with in the Middle East when I went over seas to sing for them. I think about all of the men crying because they missed their wives so much, or the man telling me he hadn't seen his baby girl yet since she was born. When I sing this song I think about them. This song is about them. It's not about me. That's what I think about every time I sing it. I love our country so much. And we should all love and respect each other because this is the greatest country in the world. I see the love. I see the unity in all walks of life on a daily basis and It makes me so proud to be an American..... so In the words of Forrest Gump. That's all I have to say about that.
Patriots are the ultimate in hypocrisy
NFL logo is a flag shield!
The name of the team is called the PATRIOTS!!!
The have a PATRIOT logo on their helmet!
They are from Boston area..the land of Paul Revere!
They wear red white and blue colors on their uniform!
WTH is in drinking water?
We live 2 miles upwind of our local high school. A few years ago, on a beautiful Friday evening, we were sitting on our patio and heard faint music playing. We had to strain to figure out what it was. It was the National Anthem, being played at the start of the football game. My husband (an American by choice) and I stood up and sang along. How could ANYONE not stand and sing???
PS- Matt Light is from a small town with which I am very familiar. Small town Ohio values will guarantee character and integrity. So glad to see he took a stand and spoke out.
The New England Pussyhats
For the first time in years, I walked away from my Patriots. As much as I love Tommy, his fellow players are doing him a great disservice in his final Seasons.
The Fans BOOED LOUDLY.
Robert Kraft should be ashamed of himself.
I have suggested changing the name since they are not patriots, New England Pussyhats
I do not think the majority of this team is “down with the Shtruggle” as Moochelle would say. I resent the term you offer as it is painting with too broad of a brush.
Most of these A holes taking a knee have the intellectual peanut butter sandwich.
I’m with you brother. God bless America!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.