By John Sarianides

The player protests in the NFL last weekend against President Trump have tarnished the game. While I am a firm believer that the players are well within their rights to do what they are doing, I also believe that their actions are hurting the league.

I think we all universally agree that what President Trump said last week about the players was wrong. There are far more pressing issues that the president should be focusing on. Texas, Florida and the Caribbean are trying to recover after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The threat of nuclear war with North Korea. The healthcare debate. Despite these issues, the president is more concerned about NFL players kneeling. Its crazy!!

The non stop back and forth between the league, its players and Trump is tiring. I am sick of it! Sports are supposed to be a diversion from the stress of every day life yet somehow football fans across the country have been caught in the middle of this nonsensical battle between the league and the leader of the free world.

I would have never thought to skip an NFL Sunday but I did last weekend. I object to the players kneeling so I refused to watch. The league is tarnished because of all this nonsense. It shouldn’t be about player protests or what the president said. It should be about football! Plain and simple.

I will watch the games this weekend and my hope is that some of this nonsense on both sides dies down. I don’t need to be lectured by either side. It bothers me that my favorite league is caught in this maelstrom. Its a shame. I want to enjoy watching the Patriots and the other games but I feel like it might be too late. The NFL has been tarnished thanks to this ridiculous back and forth between the players and the president