Ex-Green Beret and NFL player Nate Boyer has leapt to Michael Strahan’s defense after branding the outrage over his controversial national anthem act ‘ridiculous’.
Strahan sparked anger over the weekend after failing to put his hand on his heart when the national anthem was played during a Fox Sports show from the San Diego Naval Base ahead of Veterans Day.
The former New York Giants star – who lashed out at a DailyMail.com reporter on Tuesday when asked for a comment on the matter – was the only member of the network’s NFL team standing with his hands interlocked in front of him.
A number of furious Americans are calling for him to be fired by Fox Sports after his ‘unpatriotic’ move as the Star Spangled Banner played out.
Yet according to Boyer – who served six years and multiple tours for the US Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan – Strahan’s stance was not disrespectful ‘in any way’.
Ex-Green Beret Nate Boyer (right) says the outrage over Michael Strahan (left) is ‘ridiculous’
Strahan (right) sparked anger after failing to put his hand on his heart for the national anthem
Read More
BREAKING NEWS
Where is Michael Strahan? Fans speculate over NFL legend’s mysterious GMA absence
‘It’s kind of ridiculous to be completely honest,’ the former Seattle Seahawks long snapper told TMZ about the furor surrounding Strahan.
‘First of all, Mike has a deep, deep respect for the military. He’s done a lot of work in the veteran nonprofit space. He’s a military brat. You know, he grew up around this [Strahan’s father is a veteran]. This is part of his life.
‘The gesture itself, he’s standing there with his hands crossed, not disrespectfully in any way. I just don’t understand. I don’t understand that.
‘It feels like people are just reaching and they’re just picking at something, but it’s like I mean I’m offended by hearing that.’
When calmly asked for his comment on the controversy after arriving home from co-hosting ABC’s Good Morning America, Strahan exploded at a DailyMail.com reporter on Tuesday.
‘Don’t come to my house, man!’ he yelled before grabbing the reporter’s phone.
Strahan then tossed the phone into a nearby bush before making his way into his $20million townhouse with girlfriend Kayla Quick.
Despite calls for him to be fired, DailyMail.com understands Fox Sports will not impose any sanction on Strahan for what was an honest mistake.
Strahan lashed out at a DailyMail.com reporter when asked for comment on Tuesday
The former New York Giants star took the reporter’s phone and threw it into a nearby bush
After the furious outburst he made his way into his $20million townhouse with his girlfriend
A source said: ‘His peers have his back and understand that he wasn’t making the moment about himself. There isn’t going to be any type of punishment or fine going Michael’s way.
‘He may address it, but he is weighing his options because he never thought this would have ever been a thing. He knows the man he is, and he almost doesn’t want to address the controversy to give it more life.
‘Michael wants Veterans Day to be for those men and women who deserve it and deserve the praise, to be in the conversation this way and to extend the talk on what people think he was doing, it would be a disservice to what the day means.’
Strahan’s Fox colleague Jay Glazer jumped to his defense on Monday, insisting: ‘I don’t know if I have a friend who is more proud of his military roots than Michael.’
The source continued: ‘It was never addressed in the moment. All of this came later when the trolls got on it.
‘You have to think, imagine all the times you are at a game or an event that has the National Anthem and you are asked if you are able to rise, to do so.
Strahan’s Fox colleague Jay Glazer (second from left) also jumped to his defense on Monday
He was back in front of the cameras on ABC Tuesday after his national anthem gaffe
‘Everyone in those stadiums or rooms are all people that don’t all have their hand over their heart, including yourself. It doesn’t mean that you are disrespecting anything, it is just what happens in the moment.
‘Michael was in the moment and in no way shape or form objecting to the moment at hand. This was an internet controversy that was never in his thoughts to start.
‘Michael looks forward to be removed from this controversy as soon it has been created, he is going to live his life and worry about what he can control, that is all that he hope for.’
