Matt Light, who was on the Gillette Stadium field for countless victory formations, has never been so incensed to see a Patriot take a knee.

The former longtime left tackle, the decade-long blind-side protector of Tom Brady, pushed back against New England joining the national anthem protest like the players were an incoming rusher.

“If you think that it’s OK to take a knee during our national anthem and disrespect openly the national anthem, you are wrong,” Light told the Boston Herald in an impassioned interview. “I don’t care if you have a ‘but what about’ or a ‘it’s because of,’ that doesn’t matter.”

Sixteen Patriots disagree with him, protesting during “The Star-Spangled Banner” on Sunday, the first time the team has joined the movement that was created to combat racial injustice in the United States, and which took on a new life after President Trump urged owners to cut any “son of a bitch” who takes a knee.

“We’ve never been those people,” said Light, 39, who played for the Patriots from 2001 to 2011. “On the door going out it says, ‘Ignore the noise.’ It says, ‘Ignore the hype.’ It says, ‘Manage expectations.’ And it also says, ‘Speak for yourself.’ If that is not the Patriot Way anymore, then I am very disheartened and very upset. I’m also not saying that I’ll never be a Patriots fan. What I’m saying is I’m very ashamed.”

Light, a three-time Pro Bowler who grew up in Ohio, said he has never felt this way before about the team with which he won three Super Bowls.

“As a guy that’s been there and helped set up the Patriot Way so they can walk in there and do what they do, it’s beyond disheartening,” Light said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever been ashamed to be a Patriot. And I promise you I’m not the only one.”

He’s right on that count. As many Patriots took a knee, their own fans rebelled, with audible boos hurled at the players who were protesting racial injustice.

“Stand up!” can be heard shouted by fans shortly before the anthem began.

The anthem kneeling “would have never happened during my time,” Light said.

The one holdover from his days in a uniform, Tom Brady, did not kneel, but did not take issue.

“I certainly disagree with what [Trump] said. I thought it was just divisive,” Brady said on WEEI on Monday. “Like I said, I just want to support my teammates.”