A Tennessee business owner upset over some football players' "unpatriotic" protests has pulled all his company’s ads from NFL broadcasts for the rest of the season.
Allan Jones, CEO of Check Into Cash and Hardwick Clothes, announced his decision after more than 200 NFL players protested the national anthem Sunday by taking a knee during pregame ceremonies, Fox Business reported.
Taking to Facebook, Jones posted a letter written to his ad agency and national media buyer for both TV and radio, The Tombras Group, in which he requests that all his company’s commercials be removed from airing during NFL games for the entire season.
“For the 29 states we operate in, this isn’t much to them, but it’s a lot to us,” he wrote, adding that “our companies will not condone unpatriotic behavior! TAKING A STAND . . . NOT A KNEE!”
Speaking to the Cleveland Daily Banner, Jones said the decision first began to form in his mind after NFL player Colin Kaepernick started the kneeling protest last season.
“It started when I saw Kaepernick do what he did and then get up going around talking to the oppressed wearing a Fidel Castro T-shirt,” he explained. “I have been to Cuba and for him to talk about the oppressed while supporting Fidel Castro is insanity.”
Jones slammed the players who chose to protest the national anthem, claiming they don't have a clue what “The Star-Spangled Banner” is actually about.
“A democracy cannot survive unless they are educated,” Jones told the Cleveland Daily Banner. “This has nothing to do with race. This is about respect for the flag and respect for the greatest country in the world.”
While many have praised Jones for his decision, others have responded with criticism for the business owner.
One Facebook user noted that NFL players “have every right to peacefully protest."
Meanwhile, another Facebook user pointed out that the right to protest formed the cornerstones of the founding of the U.S.
“That Jones wants to counter-protest by pulling advertising is fine, but to claim that players protesting in the first place is "unpatriotic" is plain ignorant,” the user wrote.
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