Matt Light says Sunday he was ‘ashamed to be a Patriot'

Matt Light says Sunday, as more than a dozen players from his former team took a knee during the national anthem, was “the first time” he was “ashamed to be a Patriot.”

The retired New England left tackle told the Boston Herald that it’s wrong to disrespect “The Star-Spangled Banner” no matter what.

“As a guy that’s been there and helped set up the Patriot Way so they can walk in there and do what they do, it’s beyond disheartening,” said Light, who was at the win over the Texans. “ It’s the first time I’ve ever been ashamed to be a Patriot. And I promise you I’m not the only one.”

A few NFL players had been consistently taking a knee or raising their first during the national anthem as a way to protest racial injustice and police brutality. But after President Donald Trump called them a “son of a b---h” and demanded teams fire those athletes, many more football players took part in the protest over the weekend and Monday night.

Some who chose not to kneel linked arms, including some owners and coaches, as a sign of “unity” with their team. Other teams did not come out for the anthem at all.

Light, who played on the Pats for 11 seasons, said he sat with a 91-year-old veteran at the game, as well as the wife of a slain SEAL Team 6 member.

“His wife had to sit at her first NFL game and watch what these men chose to do. Her husband died, gave his life up so that they could do that,” Light said. “That’s the reality that these so-called men don’t understand. Is it about their cause or is it about them? If it was about their cause, I could come up with a million different ways for them to really truly change things. ...They obviously didn’t think about anybody other than themselves.”

Light spoke about his comments on multiple radio shows Monday and didn’t agree with the arguments made by current Patriots, including Devin McCourty, who have articulated why they decided to kneel.

He added that he doesn’t agree with the way Trump “does things,” but he believes the President wants people to respect the anthem.

“[Trump] never said that 'I don't like black people.' He never said, you know, 'I'm a racist.' Right?” Light said on “Toucher & Rich.” “ Which is what these guys are alluding to, that he must be a racist because he's saying that we should stand for the national anthem and he's trying to keep us down. Or whatever it is, right?"

Another former Patriot pushed back against Light’s remarks on WEEI with OMF.

“I get Matt Light’s point, but listen, it’s already been expressed by the players,” Willie McGinest said. “This is not an attack on our country our flag, what it stands for. What it actually stands for is, you have a right to express yourself. You have the right to have an opinion. This is what our men and women fought for.”

The ex-linebacker added: “When it comes to what everybody is standing up for, this weekend was a little different, because of the comments that were made. But prior to that, it was about police brutality and injustices in the community against people of color.”