Protests by NFL players during the national anthem should have been stopped from the beginning, former football star Herschel Walker told The New York Post on Sunday.
"I absolutely think the protests are so upsetting, and I blame the commissioner," he said. "I know people are going to be angry when I say it, but he should have stopped the protests at the very beginning."
Walker, who since retiring from football has had a string of successful businesses, said he had no problem with demonstrations, but that they had their time and place.
"Our flag is very special, and black lives matter, but what we should do is go to Washington after the season and protest there instead," he said. "We have young men and women fighting for the flag. And we have to respect the White House."
In the 1980s, Walker played for Donald Trump's short-lived USFL New Jersey Generals.
Trump as president has spurred controversy by criticizing the NFL players repeatedly for protesting during the national anthem and saying they should be fired if they don't stand during the song, The Hill reported.
At the NFL's fall meeting last month, owners decided they would not change their policy on the issue, despite the pressure to do so.
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