A Buffalo Bills stadium worker quit his job of 30 years when the team protested during the national anthem on Sunday.
Erich Nikischer walked out of New Era Field, saying that kneeling or sitting during the Star-Spangled Banner was disrespectful.
‘I waited until the national anthem ended, I took off my shirt, threw my Bills hat on the ground, walked out,’ Nikischer told Channel 2.
Erich Nikischer (pictured, walking out of the stadium tunnel for the last time), a Buffalo Bills stadium worker, quit his job of 30 years when the team didn’t stand for the national anthem ahead of Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos
‘I waited until the national anthem ended, I took off my shirt, threw my Bills hat on the ground, walked out,’ Nikischer (pictured, right, with his wife) said of his decision
Nikischer says he doesn’t have an issue with players protesting before the national anthem but that it was inappropriate to do so while it played (Pictured, Nikischer shared a post on Facebook expressing his views on those who protest during the national anthem)
Nikischer said he doesn’t have an issue with players protesting before the National Anthem but that it was inappropriate to do so while it played.
‘During the National Anthem…the song that is about our country, our veterans that fight and die for us, it’s just something I feel you shouldn’t disrespect that way,’ he said.
‘I believe people have the right to protest; I just don’t believe that’s the proper venue for it.’
The picture he shared on Facebook of him walking out of the Bills stadium tunnel for the last time has gone viral with more than 8,400 reactions and more than 4,200 shares.
More than 200 across the NFL sat or knelt during the Star-Spangled Banner on Sunday, days after President Donald Trump implored team owners to ‘get that son of a b**** off the field’ for protesting during the national anthem.
Several Bills players, however, defended their actions of kneeling or locking arms.
‘I can’t stand and support something where our leader of this country is just acting like a jerk,’ running back LeSean McCoy said in a post-game press conference.
More than 200 across the NFL sat or knelt during the Star Spangled Banner on Sunday including several Bills players who locked arms or knelt (pictured)
The defiance came two days after President Donald Trump implored team owners to ‘get that son of a b**** off the field’ for protesting during the national anthem (Pictured, Bills players lock arms or kneel ahead of Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos)
The protest campaign against racial inequality was started last year by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Only six players participated last week.
But Trump’s weekend attack on athletes sparked angry reactions from around the sports world and drew defiance from most of the NFL.
‘Once again, this is a tragedy in this country that we have to sit here and still have these discussions,’ Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer said following a 31-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
He added: ‘I know for a fact that I’m no son of a b****, and I plan on continuing forward and doing whatever I can from my position to promote the equality that’s needed in this country.’