Haines’ American Legion Lynn Canal Post 12 has stopped airing NFL games until the football league “restores proper respect to our flag and anthem.”
Since 2016, some NFL players have kneeled before games when the national anthem is played to protest racial inequality and police shootings. Last month, President Donald Trump made comments during a political rally calling for NFL owners to fire those players.
More than 200 NFL players have sat or kneeled during the national anthem since Trump made those statements. Some teams have refused to take the field when the anthem was performed.
In response, nine Haines Legion members voted last week during their monthly meeting to stop airing NFL games.
Legion member Bill Rostad supported the decision, but initially abstained from voting until they could check with state legion officials for approval to stop airing games.
All nine legion members who attended October’s meeting, including Rostad, Terry Pardee, Joe Poor and Ralph Strong, decided to stop airing the games.
Rostad said the local legion needs to see NFL team owners and players respect the American flag before they’ll air games.
“We have a lot of members who come to watch the games. I hate to see it go this way, but I don’t know what it is about these young athletes and why they feel they can disrespect the flag like that,” Rostad said.
“I think the owners are going to see pushback from the public and pushback from their sponsors and us old guys.”