NFL not disrespecting American flag, servicemen: Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils CEO on anthem protests

Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center CEO Scott O'Neil joined FOX Business on Monday to discuss NFL national anthem protests.

In his opinion, NFL players are not showing disrespect to U.S. servicemen or the American flag.

“I think what we saw this weekend was owners standing side by side with their players. And I think … it’s very rare that you’ll see NFL owners, the NFL players and the NFL commissioner all aligned literally and figuratively standing side-by-side for something,” he told Maria Bartiromo on “Mornings with Maria.”

O’Neil said players are making statements because they feel things have to change and get better.

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“I’m not sure we should make this about the flag as much as dialogue and social activism and the opportunity to drive change,” he said, adding that years ago players didn’t have a platform to express their opinions.

“These players today are saying, ‘hey you know what, I have a platform. I have 5 million followers on Twitter. I can actually make this world a little bit better and I’m going to go do it.’ And I respect the athletes for their platform and how they do it,” O’Neil said.