P.K. Subban said on Tuesday that he will “never” kneel during the national anthem to protest something politically.

Subban performed at a fundraiser on Tuesday night at Zanies Comedy Club in Nashville, to benefit Comedy Cares. He told the audience that he would “never” take a knee during the national anthem, because he has too much respect for the American flag. His comments were sent to us by two eyewitnesses, and confirmed by the Predators. Subban, who is Canadian, is considered the most prominent black player in pro hockey.

Earlier in the day, the Nashville Predators announced that, as a team, they would not engage in any protests during the national anthem. This came less than two days after hundreds of NFL players, coaches and executives showed solidarity in rebuking President Donald Trump’s comments that players who protested police brutality against African-Americans during the national anthem were “sons of bitches” who deserved to lose their jobs.

Said CEO Sean Henry, to the Tennessean:

“When this all came about, we wanted to get together with our team because everything we do is collaborative. When we say what we’re going to be doing, it really is a ‘we.’ Everyone had input on it. We are honoring the anthem and the flag and the country by standing during the anthem. We invite our fans to do so with us. “It is also our way of honoring what else it stands for, and it does provide for the freedom for others to express their views and protests in a manner in which they feel comfortable doing. We just think there’s proper forums for all. Our games have become this unifying celebration, so we have decided that we’re all going to stand together to honor the country and all that comes with it.”

According to Seth Dean, a Predators fans who attended the comedy fundraiser event, Subban took the stage and said “he will continue to stand, respect, and sing along with U.S. anthem.” At one point, he pointed out a friend of his in the crowd who was a law enforcement officer from Boston.

From Dean:

“He also addressed why he always shuffles his feet during anthem. He first said it could be ADD but he was never tested. Then he mentioned just being pumped up by crowd and excited to support USA even as a Canadian. He even jokingly suggested we should all stand and sing anthem there at Zanies (which didn’t happen). He obviously wasn’t going to go against Lavy’s proclamation that players were going to stay standing, especially with his coach in the room, but he made his support for anthem as unequivocal as he possibly could.”

In an email to Yahoo Sports, Hailey, another attendee, described the scene in more detail:

Tonight was a comedy fundraiser at Zanies in Nashville, for which Ryan Hamilton was the headliner. As my attendance was spontaneous, I was pretty excited when PK Subban was the first “comedian”. Much to my surprise, his allegedly “impromptu” set ended with a tense promise from PK that despite his previous dancing antics during the national anthem, he would NEVER kneel during the national anthem, followed by a long rant about his “respect” for the American flag.

Obviously, it’s totally PK’s prerogative on how reacts to the national anthem, but I couldn’t help but feel frustrated by the whole incident. I saw that Joel Ward, who had, like PK, been subject to some good old Boston racism during his playoff run against the Bruins, spoke favorably about the NFL protests in the past couple days. As the event was a fundraiser and had a lesser-known comedian, the majority of the audience tended to center around older, white Tennesseans. No cameras or phones are allowed, yet PK’s stance against the NFL protesters certainly was an uncomfortable one for me and my fellow young Predators’ fans. His awkward shout out to Peter Laviolette, who was in attendance, right before proclaiming his “respect” for the American flag certainly did not help matters.

So no, P.K. Subban will not be the guy who takes the knee and makes the stand. P.K. Subban is the guy who decided, with his team, not to do so, and then told a room without cameras rolling that he would never protest during the anthem.

Sorry if this let you down, because you believed an outspoken player like Subban would stand in solidarity with other pro athletes, or would symbolically share your political beliefs through his actions.