Vin Scully 'Will Never Watch Another NFL Game' Due to Protests During Anthem

Legendary baseball broadcaster Vin Scully said he will never watch another NFL game in response to player protests during the national anthem.

Scully said Saturday night at "An Evening with Vin Scully" in Pasadena, California:

"I have only one personal thought, really. And I am so disappointed. I used to love, during the fall and winter, to watch the NFL on Sunday. And it's not that I'm some great patriot. I was in the Navy for a year. Didn't go anywhere. Didn't do anything. But I have overwhelming respect and admiration for anyone who puts on a uniform and goes to war. So the only thing I can do in my little way is not to preach. I will never watch another NFL game."

Scully, who turns 90 on Nov. 29, retired from broadcasting following the 2016 baseball season. He broadcast NFL games for CBS from 1975-1982. 

Hundreds of players have knelt during the national anthem during the 2017 season, largely in protest of systemic racism in the United States. Public criticisms by President Donald Trump sparked a massive wave of protests during Week 3 and led to an internal crisis within NFL offices.

With certain fans and sponsors unhappy with the demonstrations, NFL officials have met twice with groups of players to discuss their concerns. One meeting of ownership and league officials included Houston Texans owner Bob McNair saying "we can't have the inmates running the prison," which led to nearly his entire team kneeling during the anthem last week.

Scully rarely dipped into any political-leaning commentary during his broadcast career, which spanned seven decades, most of which in Los Angeles for the Dodgers. He began his career in the broadcast booth after a short stint in the Navy during the 1940s.