Old Man Refuses to be honored at Saints game

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The New Orleans Saints released a statement Thursday saying it is "unfortunate and disappointing" that a retired Navy commander who declined an honor at Sunday's game has been telling media outlets he no longer supports NFL football because of player protests throughout the league before and during the national anthem.

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Wells, who is the executive director of the national Military Veterans Advocacy in Slidell, Louisiana, was selected as a Peoples Health Champion, an award given at Saints home games to recognize "the exceptional achievements of Louisiana residents age 65 and older."

However, Wells declined the honor, calling the protests during the anthem a "slap in the face to veterans" in a news release and saying he could not "in good conscience" enter an NFL stadium.

"Although I am touched and honored to be selected for such an award, the ongoing controversy with NFL players' disrespect for the national flag forces me to decline to participate in the presentation," Wells said according to the release. "Since this award is tainted with the dishonorable actions of the NFL and its players, I cannot accept it."

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"We will not allow Mr. [John] Wells' decision and subsequent media appearances to distract our players and organization from continuing to honor and support our military and veterans," the Saints said in their statement, which stressed the organization's "unwavering 50-plus year commitment to honor, support and recognize our servicemen and women and veterans."

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"Respectfully and honorably, we chose Mr. Wells for the Peoples Health Champion Award purposefully for this game to bring to light the exact issues that he and his organization represent -- the health and well-being of our military, veterans and their families. Unfortunately, he has chosen very publicly not to accept this honor and refused the opportunity to promote the very cause for which he was being honored and distract from awareness we hoped to build throughout our community. We respect his decision, he has that right, and we thank him for his service to our country and his past efforts on behalf of the military and veterans."

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Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro touched upon this on his Twitter account Thursday, writing, "Our crowd boos us before the anthem, therefore it's not about the flag, it's about the fact we are bringing awareness to a cause that makes people uncomfortable."

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