Disabled Vet Tells NO Saints To Stick Award
http://nypost.com/2017/11/03/saints-in-public-feud-with-veteran-over-anthem-protests/
Retired Navy Cmdr. John Wells, executive director of the Louisiana-based Military Veterans Advocacy, was selected by the Saints to receive its Peoples Health Champion Award for highlighting the “health and well-being of our military, veterans and their families,”
according to the team’s statement Thursday.
But Wells told the organization Wednesday not to expect him at the game, since he’s unable “in good conscience” to enter an NFL stadium where some players continue to “disrespect” the American flag by kneeling or sitting before or during the national anthem.
“Although I am touched and honored to be selected for such an award, the ongoing controversy with NFL players’ disrespect for the national flag forces me to decline to participate in the presentation,” Wells said in a statement,
according to the Times-Picayune. “Since this award is tainted with the dishonorable actions of the NFL and its players, I cannot accept it. To do so would be hypocritical.”
Wells, a disabled vet who served from 1972 through 1994, said he “hoped and prayed” that Roger Goodell would ban the “disgraceful protests,” but the NFL commissioner
announced in October that league owners will not force players to stand for the national anthem even though they agree that they should.
“Their failure to act is a slap in the face to all of those who have served in uniform,” Wells’ statement continued. “Men and women have fought and died for the flag that the players are disrespecting.”