Political

30-Year Buffalo Bills Stadium Worker Throws Down Shirt And Hat, Quits After Bills Kneel

By Cowgirl On September 26, 2017 14

Erich Nikischer quit his stadium job after the Buffalo Bills protested the National Anthem.

Buffalo Bills Stadium Worker Quits

Orchard Park, NY – A court officer who works part-time at a stadium job at New Era Field, home of the Buffalo Bills, quit in protest on Sunday, September 24.

Erich Nikischer threw down his Bills cap after the game, and walked out, after being employed there for 30 years, according to WGRZ. Nikischer told Channel 2, “I waited until the National Anthem ended, I took off my shirt, threw my Bills hat on the ground, walked out.”

He said that his problem is not with players protesting before the national anthem, but when the kneeling continued into the actual song.

Nikischer said, “During the National Anthem…the song that is about our country, our veterans that fight and die for us, it’s just something I feel you shouldn’t disrespect that way. I believe people have the right to protest; I just don’t believe that’s the proper venue for it.”

He said, “I was [finally] pushed to my limit today and had to quit. I [cannot] work in a place where [multimillionaires] cry that they are oppressed”, according to the New York Post.

Although he quit that job, Nikischer has another steady job. He is a court officer for the New York State Courts, and works as a court officer in Buffalo. He has been a court officer since 2007.

In a Facebook post, Nikischer wrote about why he quit his stadium job. That post has since been removed, but not before it was shared over 47,000 times.

He doesn’t seem to be alone in how he feels, as numerous fans, players, players’ family members, and others have expressed their anger over disrespect to the flag and the United States during Sunday’s NFL games.

Many players either kneeled, stood with arms linked, or remained in the tunnel or locker room during the national anthem, all in response to President Trump’s remarks about players who kneel should be fired.

Buffalo Bills free safety Jordan Poyer also felt the same way, according to his fiance Rachel Bush. She said they decided together that he wasn’t participating in an on-field protest.

Bush said, “I feel like there’s a certain time or place where you should make a stand for something, and we both agree that it’s not in your work force, your work field. So yeah, I agree there’s something that should be done, but we both mutually don’t agree that it should be done during their work…during their football season.”

Nikischer said that it was a difficult decision, and that he would miss his co-workers. He said, “I will never step foot in the that place again, I will never watch an NFL football game again until this ends.”

There has not been a response from the Buffalo Bills to Nikischer’s resignation.

Our partners at Warrior 12, who print our Blue Lives Matter shirts, have launched a limited edition pre-order Stand For The Flag shirt so that can proudly display that you don’t kneel.