Conservatives cheered when Pittsburgh Steeler Alejandro Villanueva, who’s also a combat veteran, came out and stood for the national anthem while the rest of the team stayed in the locker room. They won’t be happy with what Villanueva has said about it since, though. They think he’s just like them, a jingoist among a sport full of traitors to America, and this is really going to ruin that.
First off, it doesn’t look like Villanueva intended to be defiant this way:
Villenueva asked Ben after Sat night meeting if he could be out in front with captains. Agreed to.
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Villenueva turned around when the Bears fan flag came in, he looked back to his teammates,then the anthem started. He couldn’t walk out then
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
So it looks like there might have been some miscommunication about what they were doing, or maybe that Villanueva wasn’t totally sure what the team had agreed to do.
He also said he knew, every time he saw the flag on a fellow soldier’s shoulder during a mission, that they were fighting for each other. He also did say, “People die for the flag; there’s no way else to put it… There’s nothing else that would justify dying for that mission.” (It’s likely the mission he meant was whatever mission he and his fellow soldiers were on, rather than the mission of fighting for the flag that Trump fans are glomming onto).
But it’s what he says about how he feels about what happened that will have Trump fans seething. Seriously:
Alejandro Villanueva: “This national anthem ordeal has sort of been out of control, and there’s a lot of blame on myself…”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Villenueva:”I made coach Tomlin look bad, and that is my fault and my fault only. I made my teammates look bad, and that is my fault…only”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Alejandro Villanueva: “Unfortunately, I threw (my teammates) under the bus, unintentionally.”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Alejandro Villaneuva: “Every single time I see that picture of me standing by myself, I feel embarrassed.”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Al Villanueva: “For anybody who thinks that Coach Tomlin is not as patriotic as you can get in America… I’m offended by that.”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Villanueva: “We as a team tried to figure it out, obviously we butchered it…. I’m not gonna pretend I have some kind of righteous voice.”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Alejandro Villaneuva: “I will support all my teammates, and all my teammates and all my coaches have always supported me.”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
And then there’s this:
Villenueva says he “absolutely” would be OK if teammates kneeled or sat during the anthem.
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Al Villanueva says some players who have been kneeling during anthems have approached him after/before games and thanked him for his service
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Al Villenueva: “Every single one of my teammates is extremely supportive and extremely patriotic. I can honestly said that.”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Al Villaneuva: “The team meeting that we had on Saturday night brought the whole team together. Absolutely, We had great conversations.”
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 25, 2017
Trump fans really don’t understand why people are so angry at them for whining about professional athletes not standing for the national anthem. The jingoism is dangerously strong among them, along with the cluelessness and blind followership. In fact, many of them are on the above thread and totally, utterly and completely misunderstanding it. They aren’t the patriots they believe themselves to be. Not even close.
Featured image via Joe Robbins/Getty Images
