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Rauner: Kneeling NFL Players Insult 'Our Nation As A Whole'

Gov. Bruce Rauner during his Route 66 motorcycle stop in Lexington on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2017.
Carleigh Gray
/
WGLT
Gov. Bruce Rauner during his Route 66 motorcycle stop in Lexington on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2017.

Gov. Bruce Rauner said Monday that athletes who are protesting during the National Anthem are insulting the country.

Rauner’s most recent disclosure of where all his money comes from shows he’s a part owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Bulls. During Sunday's Bears game against the Steelers, most of Pittsburgh stayed off the field during the National Anthem.

Rauner says athletes who protest during the anthem insult "our nation as a whole."

"And as a result, insult our veterans who have fought and many have died to defend our nation and our flag and our values," Rauner said.

Rauner also says people in America are free to be insulting. He did not address President Donald Trump’s comments that NFL owners should fire those who disrespect the flag.

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Tony Arnold covers Illinois state politics for WBEZ. His investigations have ranged from the multiple Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks at the Quincy veterans’ home that resulted in the deaths of more than a dozen residents, to documenting an increase in the deaths of children who had contact with Illinois’ child welfare system. He’s also covered the unprecedented two-year state budget impasse, Chicago mayoral elections, national political conventions, and he’s edited the daily news desk. He’s won numerous Illinois AP and Peter Lisagor awards for his reporting. Tony has a B.A. in American Studies from Miami University. He’s previously worked at WNIJ in DeKalb, IL and WMUB in Oxford, OH. His first job in journalism was as a stringer, recording stats for local high school sports.