Last month, the NFL’s regular season officially began. In its first few weeks, numerous players have been taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest issues that they believe the minority community is facing, such as systemic oppression and police brutality. Unsurprisingly, participating in a protest at such a time has left a massive amount of people outraged, including President Donald Trump, who’s repeatedly criticized the NFL for not condemning what many consider to be extremely disrespectful conduct.

One of the people not upset over the kneeling, however, is the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Shad Khan, who recently not only came out in support of the protests but also attacked Trump over his criticism of it. Khan went so far as to suggest that Trump is simply “jealous” of the NFL’s brand.

Specifically, while speaking to reporters about the National Anthem protests during an interview earlier this week, Khan claimed, “[Trump’s criticism is] about money, or messing with — trying to soil a league or a brand that he’s jealous of…This is a very personal issue with him…He’s been elected President, where maybe a great goal he had in life to own an NFL team is not very likely. So to make it tougher, or to hurt the league, it’s very calculated.”

By saying this, Khan is essentially suggesting that Trump is only criticising the NFL out of jealousy because his bid to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014 failed. To support his claim that Trump’s reasons for attacking the NFL are disingenuous, he added, “let’s get real. The attacks on Muslims, the attacks on minorities, the attacks on Jews. I think the NFL doesn’t even come close to that on the level of being offensive.”

Khan’s position on the protests is much different than the one held by Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, who recently spoke out against the kneeling and warned that if anyone on his team does anything to disrespect the American flag or National Anthem, then they won’t play.

Specifically, during an interview earlier this month, Jones was asked about Damontre Moore and David Irving, two Cowboys players who both raised their fists at the end of the anthem last game. In response, Jones mentioned that he wasn’t aware that it had happened but made it clear that disrespecting the flag or National anthem won’t be tolerated. “If there’s anything that is disrespectful to the flag, then we will not play. OK? Understand? If we are disrespecting the flag, then we won’t play. Period. Period,” threatened Jones.

“We’re going to respect the flag, and I’m going to create the perception of it. And we have,” he continued, noting, “I’m not aware and wouldn’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not aware of that. We as a team are very much on the page together. We have made our expression that we’re together.”

Jones is not the only NFL executive upset by the protests. Several weeks after the season started and the kneeling began, John Elway, the General Manager of the Denver Broncos, spoke out against mixing politics with football and urged players to move forward.

“Hopefully as we go forward we can start concentrating on football a little bit more. Take politics out of football. But I think that last week was a good show of unity by the NFL and hopefully this week we can move forward,” reasoned Elway.

“I’m one that believes in standing for the national anthem [and the flag], and I’ve always believed that. I believe that this is the greatest country in the world,” he explained, noting, “I understand the players and the way they felt from the comments that were made earlier in the week. They felt that they had to go down and kneel and that’s up to them.”

Hopefully, other NFL executives start to follow the lead of people like Jones and Elway and come out against protesting during the National Anthem. To ensure that this happens, conservatives must continue speaking out against those who decide to take a knee. With enough pressure, the players protesting during the anthem will be forced to stop or risk being fired.