NHL veteran says 'Stop focusing on kneeling'

San Jose Sharks forward Joel Ward published a beautiful statement on Thursday, about his decision of not taking a knee during the national anthems. Although he explained that he continues to support NFL players who kneel and debate President Donald Trump's comments, he wants to focus on helping his communities. 

Phildelaphia Flyers veteran Wayne Simmonds agrees with Ward. In an interview with CSNPhilly.com, Simmonds says people just stop focusing on the kneeling and focus on the bigger issues. 

“All anyone wants to talk about right now is why they’re kneeling,” Simmonds said. “And if you’re disrespecting the Army or the national anthem or whatever it might be. People fail to see what the real issue is, or why Colin Kaepernick actually started this protest, and that he actually talked with an armed force member who was actually on CNN last night discussing all of these issues on a panel as to why he used the national anthem as a vehicle to get this out.”

Most folks are so obsessed with kneeling during the anthem that it overshadows the original message about racial inequality, preventing a genuine discussion on the issue and its solution. 

“It’s an American issue right now," he said. "We’re talking about America. We’re talking about the United States of America. We’re not talking about Canada. I’m a black male living in the United States and for the majority of my time, majority of the last 10 years I’ve lived here, I definitely understand what everyone is protesting about it and I definitely support the cause.”