Local veteran, ex-NFLer speaks out about protests around NFL

On Friday, while at a rally in Alabama, the President talked about players who kneel during the National Anthem. The President said, "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he's fired. He's fired,'" Trump said. "You know, some owner is going to do that. He's going to say, 'That guy that disrespects our flag, he's fired.' And that owner, they don't know it [but] they'll be the most popular person in this country."

That led to league-wide protests, with players either sitting, kneeling or locking arms during the National Anthem before games and three teams staying in the locker room.

On Sunday, Bakersfield native, veteran and former NFL player, Jeremy Staat took to social media to talk about the league-wide protests.

In a post on Facebook, Staat said, in part, "As a Veteran I fought for a free people to have the right to make decisions on their own, I just wish they wouldn't do it in a manner that would disrespect the one thing that is giving them the right to do so, but that is what makes this country so different from the rest of the world."

He went on to say, "... I would love nothing greater than to drive through every town in America and see the American Flag (properly) posted and the flag protocols followed, on every home and business; or to see every Facebook profile portray the American flag, but you can't claim to want freedom and then regulate the people on how to be patriotic.

"As a Veteran I will stand for those that can't and who won't."