Vin Scully is done with the NFL.
The beloved former Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster, who turns 90 later this month, said over the weekend the ongoing protests have driven him away from the NFL, and that he’ll abstain from watching the league’s product for as long as he lives.
“I have only one personal thought, really,” Scully told a crowd at the Pasadena Civic Center on Saturday night during “An Evening With Vin Scully,” as transcribed by Deadspin. “And I am so disappointed. And I used to love, during the fall and winter, to watch the NFL on Sunday. And it’s not that I’m some great patriot. I was in the Navy for a year — didn’t go anywhere, didn’t do anything. But I have overwhelming respect and admiration for anyone who puts on a uniform and goes to war. So the only thing I can do in my little way is not to preach. I will never watch another NFL game.”
Scully’s answer was met with enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
This take is relatively unsurprising for someone of Scully’s age and background, especially considering the broadcaster’s past. And while NFL players choosing to sit or kneel during the national anthem aren’t doing so to protest the flag or military — they’re doing so to protest racial injustice in America — it’s also easy to see why some people might be upset by their actions.
Thumbnail photo via Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports Images
