BLOWBACK: NFL protester says father has lost work because of it.

Lions defensive linemen Akeem Spence tweeted Thursday that a contractor denied his father work on a house because of his protests.

There were eight Lions players who kneeled during the anthem on Sunday, and Spence was one of them. After the game, he explained his actions as every protester has when asked — that it is not about the flag or the anthem or disrespecting the military, but rather to raise awareness for racial inequality in America.

“No disrespect to the flag, no disrespect to any of the veterans or anything,” Spence told ESPN after the Lions’ 30-26 loss to the Falcons. “It was just right is right, wrong is wrong, and what the guy said about us as NFL players, I just feel like that’s something that’s us, as NFL players, we have to stand up for that’s not what we are. You know what I’m saying. We’re human beings. We give back to the community.

“We do great things, and our owners, you know what I’m saying, they do great things. So that’s something we don’t represent around the NFL. That’s something every team should have come out and showed this Sunday, that it’s not what that guy said about us.”

It’s impossible to tell from his statement exactly what Spence thought he was protesting or supporting by taking a knee, but it is clear that he fails to understand that freedom of expression is a two-way street.