Rep. Seth Moulton said Friday that football players should choose a different way of expressing their issue with police brutality than kneeling during the national anthem.
“The players have every right in the world to kneel and protest — but I’m not sure it’s the most respectful, or best way to bring this issue to light because rather than talk about police brutality, all we’re talking about is offending the flag,” Mr. Moulton, Massachusetts Democrat, said on MSNBC. “It doesn’t make me feel good to see people disrespecting the flag.”
The National Football League has been embroiled in controversy surrounding players and coaches kneeling before the national anthem to protest police brutality, but many see it as a disrespect to the flag and the country. An Iraq war veteran, Mr. Moulton was one of the first troops sent over at the start of the war and served four tours of duty.
The congressman also said the Democratic Party cannot be distracted by issues that are not important to the voters who they’re trying to attract. Mr. Moulton called for new leadership within the party to rebuild an economic message.
“i think we’re focused on a lot of things that just don’t really matter to the voters that we’ve lost,” Mr. Moulton said. “I think what we need in the Democratic Party more than anything is new leadership, a new generation of leadership.”
He also said he’s been approached by people asking him if he’d consider running for the presidency in 2020, but he said he doesn’t plan on running.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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