Eagles receiver Torrey Smith, the son of an Army veteran, explained that he never participated in an anthem demonstration until Trump took aim at NFL players. Both he and Villanueva embraced the nuance, and the empathy, often missing from the polarizing debate over anthem demonstrations. “I understand why some people may be offended by people protesting during the national anthem,” Smith said. “My father served 25 years. When my dad dies, he’s going to be wrapped in an American flag, and that’s something that is special to him. But my dad also is out of the Army, and he drives trucks all over the country, and he’s a black man everywhere he goes, and sometimes he has racial incidents still today. So that doesn’t protect him, just because he served our country. He’s been to Iraq plenty of times. That doesn’t protect him from certain things that still exist in our society. I think that’s important. If you ask him, he’ll tell you, ‘I fought for people’s freedom to exercise that. Is that the avenue I would choose? No. But, I put my life on the line for that right.’ ”
