CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland's police union will not be holding the American flag for a pregame ceremony for the Brown's first game Sept. 10, Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis said late Friday.
Union members had planned on participating in the flag ceremony for the first game on Sept. 10 until some Browns players kneeled during the National Anthem before a preseason game, Loomis said in an interview with cleveland.com.
The players not standing for the national anthem is offensive because of the sacrifices that people make that allows these guys to enjoy the success that they have, Loomis said. While they're benefiting from protection of the flag they are kneeling in disrespect of it, he said.
The Browns management and ownership condoned this disrespectful activity of their employees, Loomis said.
"It's just ignorant for someone to do that," he said. "It just defies logic to me. The fact that management was aware of what they planned on doing, that's as offensive as it can get."
Browns players knelt during the national anthem before playing against the Giants on Aug. 21.
"As an organization, we have a profound respect for our country's National Anthem, flag and the servicemen and servicewomen in the United States and abroad," a Browns spokesman said in a statement at halftime. "We feel it's important for our team to join in this great tradition and special moment of recognition, at the same time we also respect the great liberties afforded by our country, including the freedom of personal expression."
They locked arms during the playing of the national anthem prior to the preseason game against the Bears on Aug. 31.
Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown said prior to the game against Bears that the players handled themselves well.
"Professionally, thoughtfully, probably as thoughtfully as any others have," Brown said in an earlier cleveland.com article. "These are guys that mean well. We really push our guys to be active and conscious about the communities they live in and what goes on around them that might be even larger than football. They do that, and we support them. We respect their efforts to use their platform to make some change and express themselves. And I think for all those guys that knelt initially and then last week decided to stand -- I won't get into why they made that decision -- I think they are going about it in a very responsible and thoughtful way. I'm actually proud of them."
Loomis said many of the Browns fans are law-abiding patriotic citizens, and he called the move by the players a slap to the face of the fans.
"When management allows you to do those things, then that's on them," Loomis said. "It's hypocritical of the Browns management and ownership to want to have an armed forces first-responder day, and have us involved in it when they allow their players to take a knee during the national anthem. That's the very representation of what we stand for. That's why we aren't going to."
