If you were watching football on Sunday or you follow the president on Twitter, chances are you saw Donald Trump verbally attack NFL players who have been kneeling during the national  anthem at the beginning of games.

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On Sunday, the president tweeted, “Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their national anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy!” While swearing, he also suggested that NFL owners suspend or fire players who refuse to stand for the national anthem.

The reason these players choose to kneel is because they are protesting the racial injustice in the United States, as they refuse to stand for the flag of a country that disrespects people of color.

I find Trump’s comments to be obnoxious and hypocritical. He continues to say that these NFL players are disrespecting our flag and our country. Meanwhile, he is disrespecting First Amendment rights and making a big deal out of a peaceful protest.

Before I am labeled as a liberal Hillary supporter, my reasoning for this is not based on political affiliation, but rather my morals. Trump has no respect for the opinions of NFL players and is pushing to destroy NFL teams and players’ careers. Being against Trump is not always political, and it is possible to dislike someone based on the type of person they are.

He should not make football about politics; it should be about just enjoying the game and having a good time. Between the economy and foreign affairs, the United States already has enough issues to deal with. Trump should be taking care of those problems rather than creating unnecessary problems with the NFL.

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There is no doubt that players have every right to take a knee during the national anthem and not get fired; the First Amendment protects this. But they shouldn’t do this, because using their free-speech rights to dishonor those who fight for those rights is an ineffective method of seeking justice.

While I do not completely agree with the language that Trump used in his statement. I completely agree that football players should seek to understand the implications of what they are doing and change the way they approach protest.

The simple truth is this: people died for these players to have the right to protest, and yet they are using this right to disrespect the very people who sacrificed to earn it for them. Every day people’s husbands, mothers, fathers, brothers and friends continue to die in the fight to preserve American liberty against enemy forces like ISIS who seek to destroy it.

The price of free protests is high, but there are people who are willing to pay it. These people seek justice through combat, and we have every reason to believe that they would be on the side of defending justice for minorities in America. But boycotting our national anthem is not the way to go about it.

We should honor the cost of the First Amendment by exercising it in more meaningful ways. This may involve analyzing laws that one feels are oppressive, and speaking to legislation, or campaigning for a candidate who supports one’s cause.

But it definitely should not involve blatantly refusing to honor the lives of those who died for your ability to protest and to be able to make a career out of competing in a sport that you love.