A former NFL player said the protests during the national anthem should have been stopped from the start.

“I absolutely think the protests are so upsetting, and I blame the commissioner,” Herschel Walker said, referring to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, according to the New York Post.

“I know people are going to be angry when I say it, but he should have stopped the protests at the very beginning."

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Walker told the New York Post the flag is "very special."

"Black lives matter, but what we should do is go to Washington after the season and protest there instead," he said, according to the New York Post.

"We have young men and women fighting for the flag. And we have to respect the White House.”

In the 1980s, Walker played for President Trump's USFL New Jersey Generals.

President Trump spurred controversy earlier this year when he lashed out at NFL players for protesting during the national anthem.

Trump called for the NFL to implement a rule requiring players to stand during the anthem, saying it was disrespectful to the flag and the country's soldiers to kneel.

A poll earlier this month found a majority of voters disapprove of how Goodell has handled the protests during the national anthem.

At the league’s fall meeting last month, Goodell and several team owners decided they would not change the NFL’s policy to require players to stand.