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NFL fans burning team merchandise over anthem protests (Video)

By David Rouben

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 24: Oakland Raiders players sit on the bench during the playing of the national anthem before the start of their game against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on September 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 24: Oakland Raiders players sit on the bench during the playing of the national anthem before the start of their game against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on September 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Not everyone was a fan of NFL players protesting during the national anthem, as plenty of people took to burning jerseys over it.

Week 3 of the NFL was an extremely eventful one, for a number of reasons. The games themselves were entertaining, and saw a ton of upsets, but the results took a backseat because of the national anthem.

After Donald Trump told owners to “fire” players that protested during the national anthem, the opposite happened. Most NFL owners ended up issuing statements denouncing Trump’s comments, while over 300 players took part in national anthem protests in some form. The Dallas Cowboys, though, may have found a compromise when the players knelt with owner Jerry Jones before the anthem, then stood up at the start of the song.

But not every fan was in favor of the protests. There were some boos heard across the stadiums, most notably in New England, while Alejandro Villanueva became the NFL’s highest-selling jersey after he was the lone Pittsburgh Steeler to stand during the anthem.

Others took their displeasure to extreme measures by burning their team’s merchandise:

Most of the fans in the video burned their jerseys because they come from a military background, and they view anybody that kneels during the anthem as a sign of disrespect. Then there’s the Baltimore Ravens fan at the end who went so far as to call Terrell Suggs and anybody else that kneels a “piece of garbage.”

Anthem protests were always going to be a contentious issue for some, no matter how many people did it. Most who served in the military took offense to it, while others supported the cause as well as the players’ right to choose. Don’t forget that it was a former Green Beret that convinced Colin Kaepernick to kneel after he initially sat.

Next: The most powerful photos from Sunday’s NFL anthem protests

Considering the amount of backlash to these protests, they could go away as early as next week. But there are others who want them to continue, at least until Kaepernick gets a job again.