Lions player says his father lost work because of son’s national anthem protest
Many fans reacted negatively last week when political demonstrations during the national anthem became more popular across the NFL, and one player says the backlash for his family went well beyond booing or jersey burning.
Detroit Lions defensive tackle Akeem Spence took a knee with many of his teammates before their Week 3 game. On Thursday, Spence revealed on Twitter that his father missed out on a job opportunity because of his son’s protest.
Got some awful news from my father a contractor deny giving him a job on doing a house because of my peaceful protest #smh
— Akeem spence (@AkeemSpence) September 28, 2017
Spence told the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday that he meant no disrespect to the American flag by kneeling.
“It’s about right and wrong, like I always say,” he said. “And what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong. It’s no offense to nobody, no disrespect, just like I always tell people, love one another and we’ll be alright.”
It’s no surprise national anthem protests have been such a controversial issue. If you want to know how passionate people are about the topic, just look at who led the NFL in jersey sales from Sunday into Monday. Still, Spence likely never expected his peaceful demonstration to cost his father money — nor should it have.