Blue Jackets Coach John Tortorella Says He Would Bench Any Player Who Sits During National Anthem

John Tortorella, head coach of Team USA and the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL, made it clear Tuesday that he will not tolerate national anthem protests of any kind.

Tortorella Says He Would Bench Any Player Who Sits During National Anthem

“If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game,” Tortorella said in an interview with ESPN.

ESPN’s Linda Cohn asked the former New York Rangers coach what he thought about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the playing of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at a recent NFL preseason game– a protest Kaepernick claims he made to express his frustration with the oppressive treatment of black people in America.

Tortorella, 58, is coaching Team USA in the upcoming 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Tortorella told USA Today that he considered it an honor to coach Team USA. “It is hockey, but I also think it is a huge platform for us to represent our country, especially in today’s world, with everything is going on,” the veteran coach said.

With regards to Cohn’s question, Tortorella did not back off from his comments.

“I’m not backing off,” Tortorella said after the team’s on-ice workout Wednesday. “I’ll tell you right now. Try to understand me. I’m not criticizing anybody for stepping up and putting their thoughts out there about things. I’m the furthest thing away from being anything political. No chance I’m involved in that stuff,” Tortorella said.

The Columbus coach added that he remains firm in his belief that the flag and the anthem should be sacred. Tortorella has a son who is deployed in Afghanistan for the third time as a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Kaepernick’s protest has become the subject of major national controversy, especially given the string of incidents of police violence against unarmed black men in recent years. The 49ers QB has been met with both praise and harsh criticism and derision for his protest. Many veterans of the armed forces stood by him, starting the hashtag ‘#VeteransforKaepernick‘ on social media to express their support.

Tortorella said several of the players on Team USA came to him after his comments were made public and supported his views on respecting the anthem and flag.

Other notable athletes have followed Kaepernick’s move, however. U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and Seattle Reign midfielder Megan Rapinoe recently knelt during the national anthem before the Reign’s game against the Chicago Red Stars in a show of solidarity with the quarterback.

Rapinoe told American Soccer Now that the gesture was a “little nod to Kaepernick and everything that he’s standing for right now.”

“I think it’s actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated and the way that a lot of the media has covered it and made it about something that it absolutely isn’t,” Rapinoe added. “We need to have a more thoughtful, two-sided conversation about racial issues in this country.”

“It’s the least I can do. Keep the conversation going,” the U.S. soccer star later tweeted.

PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 05: Head coach John Tortorella of the New York Rangers yells at the referee during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center on April 5, 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Penguins defeated the Rangers 2-1 in a shootout. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)