A 2017 video showing a Team USA athlete pretending to take a knee during the national anthem – only to wag his finger at the gesture in a sign of disdain – resurfaced on Thursday.
Seth Jahn, a U.S. Army Special Forces veteran who plays for the men’s Paralympic soccer team, tweeted a message at “NFL primadonnas” in September of 2017.
“You won’t see me on my knees! @NFL primadonnas, time to recognize how misplaced your ‘rage’ is! Stand yo ass up! #unitedwestanddividedwefall,” Jahn wrote, in a swipe at football players who kneeled during the national anthem, such as former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Accompanying Jahn’s caption was a clip from the United States’ match against Iran at the Rio 2016 Paralympic games.
Army Green Beret and renaissance man @SJahnIX has a message for those who kneel: pic.twitter.com/1W6HePcPGA
— Joey Jones (@Johnny_Joey) August 15, 2019
Fox News contributor Johnny Jones resurfaced the footage on Wednesday.
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“Army Green Beret and renaissance man @SJahnIX has a message for those who kneel,” Jones said in a tweet, which received hundreds of retweets and more than a thousand likes.
Seth Jahn and the patriotism question amid widespread national anthem protests from athletes
In recent years, protests by several high-profile sports figures have thrust a debate regarding deference to the American flag and national anthem into the mainstream consciousness.
Conservatives have taken issue with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem to protest injustice against minorities.
Since Kaepernick first sat down during the anthem in August 2016, other athletes have followed suit.
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Many on the right have criticized such gestures as un-American. In a broader sense, some conservatives accuse liberals of being less patriotic.
Jahn’s stance on the topic is quite clear. In 2017, he replied to a fellow Paralympian’s question on whether Jahn supported athletes’ “right to protest.”
Absolutely! I'd gladly fight for their right to do so, as I would for my right to criticize them. The action, not the right, is the issue
— Seth Jahn (@SJahnIX) September 25, 2017
“I’d gladly fight for their right to do so, as I would for my right to criticize them,” Jahn tweeted. “The action, not the right, is the issue.”
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