The NFL doesn't have the guts to bench unpatriotic players

A National Football League player refused to stand for the national anthem Saturday during a preseason game -- and in doing so he disrespected the military and the nation. 

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Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch was spotted by an Associated Press photographer sitting atop an orange cooler before the start of the preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals.

Mr. Lynch is apparently a disciple of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick – a notorious anti-American rabble-rouser.

I suspect this will not be the last episode of anti-American activity at NFL games.

"I'd rather see him take a knee than stand up, put his hands up and get murdered," Lynch told comedian Conan O'Brien in 2016.

It was Kaepernick who sparked a national protest against the alleged police violence by taking a knee during the Star-Spangled Banner. Soon, a number of college, high school and professional athletes joined his cause.

“If you’re really not racist then you won’t see what he done, what he’s doing, as a threat to America, but just addressing a problem that we have,” Lynch told Associated Press.

Raiders coach Jack Del Rio told SFGate.com that Lynch's disrespectful behavior is not an issue for the football team.

“He said, ‘This is something I have done for 11 years. It’s not a form of anything other than me being myself,’” Del Rio said. “I told him I very strongly believe in standing for the national anthem. But I respect him as a man and he can do his thing."

Well, that doesn't speak very well of Coach Del Rio's character either. The coach respects a man who disrespects the country?

I suspect this will not be the last episode of anti-American activity at NFL games. So I recommend head coaches take immediate action to deter such behavior.

If you ride the bench during the Star-Spangled Banner, you should ride the bench for the rest of season.

It would be a gutsy move -- but unlikely -- considering the lack of courage and patriotism in the National Football League.