There are many reasons why NFL players are wrong to use the national anthem as a vehicle for social protest, but I'll limit my comments to two. First, the First Amendment right to free speech protects us from government restriction on spoken or written dissent, not from limitations imposed by employers.

Assuming I worked in the lumber department of Home Depot, how long would I retain my job if I harangued shoppers seeking 2x4s about the evils of abortion or the injustice of the federal tax code? Not very long. Yet NFL players in uniform and paid like princes take a knee at football stadiums built by others and largely funded with public money. Surely, they have a right to protest, but not at their place of employment.

Second, the rationale stated by most protesting players is that America is a racist nation or that there is too much social injustice in our country. To be sure, racism and injustice exist in America, but I challenge players to name a nation that has done more good for humanity in its short existence than America has.

There are many reasons why millions of immigrants come here, legally and otherwise, and it's not because they expect to be oppressed here. Yes, America is imperfect, but if perfection is the standard required to end the protests, then we ought to apply that standard to professional athletes whenever they stumble. Should we boycott the NFL if a player is charged with domestic violence or arrested for drunk driving?

I urge players and team owners to step back from the political/ideological brinksmanship and take a deep breath. Then Americans like me can return to watching great athletes perform on the field and not feel we are betraying our country while doing so.

Steve Fillerup

Elk Ridge, Utah County