This Navy Admiral Absolutely Roasted Colin Kaepernick For His National Anthem Protest

“You can bet that the men and women we honor today…never took a knee and never failed to stand whenever they heard our national anthem being played.”

U.S. Pacific Command Commander Admiral Harry Harris has a reputation as a straight shooter. In Washington, he’s been known to spout off about China in a way that makes the suits visibly nervous.

But on Tuesday, he trained his gaze on a fellow American, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The 29-year-old has famously started a wave of protests across the NFL by refusing to stand for the national anthem, which has enraged many Americans who see that as a slight to the military. 

Harris is apparently among that group. During a speech commemorating the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Harris said this after the national anthem was played: “You can bet that the men and women we honor today, and those who died that fateful morning 75 years ago, never took a knee and never failed to stand whenever they heard our national anthem being played.” Watch the whole speech here:

The quip was met with a massive round of applause and the Department of Defense’s official Twitter account even promoted it. The tweet has since been deleted, but it’s a safe bet that most within the military are happy Harris said what he said.