San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has caused a firestorm of controversy since he decided he wouldn’t stand for the national anthem because, he believes, America “oppresses” black people.

But perhaps the most biting condemnation of his actions came Monday from former Superbowl champion Burgess Owens when he spoke to “Fox & Friends.”

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“We fail to teach our kids, our young people, anything about our history,” he said. “They’re ignorant about our country and they’re totally unappreciative of the freedoms that have been gained by people that have paid the price for them.”

The former safety for the Jets and Raiders said the crisis America is facing is ideological, not racial.

And he had some ideas about how Kaepernick could help while not disrespecting the nation that allowed him to get a $119 million contract.

“If this young man wants to really be part of the answer, turn off BET,” he said. “Black Entertainment Television is not a black-owned company. It’s owned by liberal Democrats, who for the last 15 years have fire-hosed my community with anti-white, anti-police, anti-American, anti-family liberal filth.”

Owens said the common link between Kaepernick’s protest and Beyonce’s anti-police performance at the MTV Video Music Awards is “white, liberal bullies and cowards.”

“If you’re going to step in the political arena, educate yourself,” Owens told the hosts. “Learn about our country. Learn about the freedom of a $100 million contract that the athletes of my era paid the price for this young man to have today.”