To the NFL players who took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem. So, you want to take a knee? Take a trip to Valley Forge in January. Hold a musket ball in your fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won’t be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle. Wait your turn while listening to the screams of pain from the wounded. Then take a knee. Go to Normandy where man after American man stormed the beach, dodging dead bodies and withering machine gun fire,…the very sea stained with American blood. Imagine that your fellow players are your dead brothers in arms. Then take a knee. Take a knee in the sweat soaked jungles of Vietnam. Over 60,000 Americans died in those jungles.There was no playbook or million dollar contracts for doing your job, but they understood what our flag represented. When they came home, they were protested by their fellow Americans. Then take a knee while they spit on you. Take another knee in the blood drenched sands of Fallujah in 110 degree heat.. Trade in your pads for a Kevlar helmet and battle dress…You’ll have to stay hydrated, but there won’t be anyone to squirt Gatorade into your mouth. And watch out for those IEDs when you take a knee. There’s a lot of places to take a knee. Americans have given their lives all over the world. When you use the banner under which they fought as a source for your protest, you dishonor the memories of those who bled for the very freedoms you have. That’s what the red stripes mean. It represents the blood of those who spilled it defending your liberty. So while you’re on your knee, pray for those that came before you, not on manicured fields striped and printed with numbers to announce every inch of game yardage… but on nameless hills and bloodied beaches and sweltering forests and bitter cold mountains… every inch marked by an American life lost serving that flag you protest. No cheerleaders, no announcers, no coaches, no fans… just American men and women on the land, air, and sea, delivering the real fight against those who chose to harm us… so you would have the opportunity to dishonor their service by “taking a knee.” You have no clue what it took to get you where you are… but your “protest” is duly noted. Not only is it disgraceful to a nation, it points to your ingratitude for those who chose to defend you under that banner that will still wave long after your stats and game jersey are forgotten… If you really feel the need to take a knee, come with me to church on Sunday and we’ll both kneel before Almighty God. We’ll thank Him for preserving this country for as long as He has. We’ll beg forgiveness for both of our ingratitude for all He has provided us. We’ll appeal to Him for understanding and wisdom. We’ll pray for liberty and justice for all… because He is the one who provides those things. But no protesting allowed. There will only be gratitude for His provision and a plea for His continued grace and mercy on the land of the free and the home of the brave. May He continue to bless America, the ignorant and selfish sinners we all are. What an incredible gift He has given us!

