Instead of NFL Anthem Protests, Let's Remember the NFL Players Who Served

Lou Groza, 2nd from left, & Otto Graham, 2nd from right
were among WWII veterans with the Cleveland Browns on
Dec. 12, 1954 when the Browns defeated the Pittsburgh
Steelers in Cleveland to win the NFL divisional championship.
Also pictured is Coach Paul Brown, right, Pete Brewster, far
left, and Chuck Noll, third from left. (AP, File, 1954)

by Norm Beznoska Jr., Contributing Author : This Veterans Day, I hope all Americans will stand up for America and honor our veterans, those brave men and women who served our country honorably since its founding. Especially those ungrateful few National Football League and National Basketball Association players and their cheerleaders in the news media who use their profession to mock our flag, our national anthem, and the men and women who served and died under that flag. They haven't a clue what it took to get them where they are, or to appreciate what they have as an American.

Their "taking a knee" during the anthem is disgraceful to a nation of real heroes: America's veterans and our police officers who protect their right to protest. It only serves to point to their ingratitude and contempt for our country and flag.

Their protests taunt the fans and those who chose to defend them, like 1,000 of their own NFL teammates who served in the armed forces in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars.

Among these NFL veterans were eight of our own Cleveland Browns, all now deceased: Dante Lavelli, co-founder of the NFL Players Association, a U.S. Army infantryman, who fought in WWII at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge; Lou "The Toe" Groza, NFL Hall of Famer, U.S. Army surgical technician in the Pacific in WWII; Frank "Gunner" Gatski, U.S. Army private 1st class, who fought across Europe in WWII; Lt. Weldon Humble, U.S. Marine Corps, who won a Bronze Star fighting in the Pacific in WWII and served during the Korean War, too; Marion Motley, U.S. Navy, who served in WWII; Alex Agase, U.S. Marine Corps, who served in WWII; Otto Graham, Hall of Fame quarterback, who trained as a Navy pilot in WWII and later was a captain in the Coast Guard; and Maj. Don Steinbrunner, U.S. Air Force, who received the Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross and died in Vietnam in 1967.
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Norm Beznoska, Jr., aka Navyman Norm, is a Strongsville, OH resident. He contributes to the ARRA News Service via articles and Letters to the Editor. His article was originally shared in and the image shared by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

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