At a recent NFL game, several Buffalo Bill players knelt during the national anthem in protest while others locked arms.
The kneeling was allegedly an act in response to President Donald Trump’s recent remarks on Twitter that criticized NFL players for not standing proud for the American flag and national anthem.
“Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their National Anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy!” Trump tweeted on Sept. 24.
Now one stadium worker is making headlines for his own protest.
Erich Nikischer, a stadium worker at New Era Field quit his job after spending almost 30 years there.
He said that he has no problem if the players protested before the national anthem began. Nickischer said the issue was when the kneeling kept going on during the song.
“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 told WGRZ.
“I believe people have the right to protest; I just don’t believe that’s the proper venue for it” he said.
Nikischer is not the only one who does not agree with the kneeling.
Safety Buffalo Bills player Jordan Poyer’s fiancée, Rachel Bush, said that the couple has the same feelings. On Saturday night Poyer decided he would not partake in an on-the-field protest during the national anthem, WGRZ reported.
“I feel like there’s a certain time or place where you should make a stand for something, and we both agree that it’s not in your workforce, your work field,” Bush said. “So yeah, I agree there’s something that should be done, but we both mutually don’t agree that it should be done during their work...during their football season.
Nikischer told WGRZ the decision he made was a hard one and that he still missed his co-workers.
