Way to jump — uh, kneel — into the discussion, Norman Lear.
Lear, the producer of ground-breaking ’70s TV series such as “All in the Family” and “Good Times,” entered into the debate over NFL national anthem protests on Wednesday, joining in solidarity with the protesters by taking a knee, which has become the symbolic posture of the protests.
In the process, the 95-year-old TV legend reminded his Twitter followers that, long before he brought Archie Bunker to the nation’s living rooms, he helped bring Hitler to his knees.
In a tweet Wednesday, Lear posted side-by-side photos of himself as a combat soldier and in the modern day, with both pictures depicting him on one knee.
“As a combat vet, I fought Nazis ofWWII,” Lear wrote. “Today I #takeaknee, once more, in solidarity w/my brothers&sisters still fighting 4 equality&justice.”
The subject of NFL protests, which picked up steam last year when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided not to stand for the national anthem before games as a means of protesting the treatment of minorities in America, has gained renewed interest in the past several days.
President Donald Trump has been making much hay of the topic since Friday, when he appeared at a rally in Alabama and said, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b-tch off the field right now. He is fired.’”
Trump reasserted the sentiment in a series of tweets over the weekend.
Trump’s comments have met with a considerable amount of backlash. Notably, on Monday Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones joined his players in taking a knee prior to the playing of the national anthem during this week’s edition of “Monday Night Football.”
As a combat vet, I fought Nazis ofWWII. Today I #takeaknee, once more, in solidarity w/my brothers&sisters still fighting 4 equality&justice pic.twitter.com/cmFbIju4SY
— Norman Lear (@TheNormanLear) September 27, 2017