A small-town bowling alley in Michigan known for its Super Bowl parties is opting this year to instead throw a "Stars and Stripes" bowling tournament in light of recent NFL protests.
Ray Steadmon, a veteran who served with the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division, said he’s fed up with NFL players choosing to protest by taking a knee during the national anthem, so he will be breaking his bowling alley’s 29-year Super Bowl tradition.
"I have been a huge NFL football fan all of my life," Steadmon told MLive.com ahead of Sunday’s big game. "This year, when I watch these guys sitting in protest during our national anthem, disrespecting my country, disrespecting my flag, in my opinion, it made me so angry."
The owner of Coloma Lanes in Coloma, Mich., further clarified that while he supports people's right to protest, he doesn’t support using the national anthem to do so.
To keep the tradition of throwing a party for the small town, he is asking customers to trade in their usual NFL gear for red, white, and blue attire and participate in the bowling tournament with patriotic team names like Seals, Paratroopers, and Rangers instead of NFL team names.
The protests calling attention to such issues as police brutality began in earnest in 2016 when former San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem.
This current season has been fraught with political protests and backlash, which was ignited in large part due to President Trump who, on multiple occasions, has expressed his disappointment with players who choose to protest during the national anthem. He triggered more widespread protests starting in September by calling on NFL owners to fire any "son of a bitch" who didn't stand for the national anthem.
The Super Bowl, which will feature the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the New England Patriots, is set for Sunday and will take place at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn.