Joel Malkin

Joel Malkin

I've spent more than 30 years on the radio in Palm Beach County, starting as a deejay in the late 1980s. Over the years, I became a news...Full Bio

 

U.S. Army Veteran Tells Us He's "Disgusted" By NFL Anthem Protests

We're continuing to hear from veterans about the national anthem protests at NFL games. 

U.S. Army vet Mike Durkee served two tours of duty in the Middle East, his first one in Iraq.

"Unfortunately I saw a humvee in front of me explode.  I saw a lot of guys get hurt over there and that was really one of my worst deployments that I've been to."

Durkee is now the Executive Director of the locally-based Wounded Veterans Relief Fund.  How are these protests affecting him personally?

"Right now I just don't want to watch it at all.  On a personal level, I don't want to watch football.  It just disgusts me that this is going on now.  It's not the place to be doing that."

He says NFL players are role models to a lot of kids and should set a better example. 

"All these football players, they can exercise their rights off the field.  They can go on radio shows.  They can go on TV shows.  They can go on Facebook and get their opinions voiced that way. But when you show up to a game with the Military being there as well, you need to be out there standing tall and proud and respecting the flag and also respecting all the men and women and all of the sacrifices that were made to protect all of our rights and liberties."

Wounded Veterans Relief Fund, formerly named Wounded Warriors of South Florida, but having no connection to the national Wounded Warrior Project, is based in Lake Park.  Its mission is to ease the burdens of financial distress for post-9/11 disabled veterans and their families, helping them transition back home in a productive, meaningful way.

Click Here for more information on Wounded Veterans Relief Fund.  


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