Nebraska regent: Players 'better be kicked off team' for anthem protest

Players across college football have chosen to follow Colin Kaepernick's lead and protest the national anthem, and one Nebraska regent has absolutely no time for it.

Hal Daub, a member of Nebraska's Board of Regents as well as a two-year veteran of the Korean War and former mayor of Omaha, was very outspoken regarding the conduct of three Huskers players during the national anthem before Saturday's game against Northwestern, according to Chris Dunker of The Lincoln Journal Star.

The three players in question were linebackers Michael Rose-Ivey and Mohamed Berry, and defensive end DaiShon Neal.

"They know better, and they had better be kicked off the team," Daub said. "They won't take the risk to exhibit their free speech in a way that places their circumstance in jeopardy, so let them get out of uniform and do their protesting on somebody else's nickel."

Daub also stated that Nebraska student-athletes "are not supposed to do things that create disparagement or negative implications," referring to the protest initiated by Kaepernick and followed by many football players from both the collegiate and professional level.

"It's a free country," Daub said. "They don't have to play football for the university either."

Rob Shafer, another Nebraska regent and current lieutenant colonel in the Nebraska Air National Guard, who also holds more than 31 years of military experience, commented on the protest, saying he's "honored and privileged to be able to protect the very freedoms that these Nebraska football players have chosen to exercise," but added he doesn't support the venue in which the players chose to display their protest.