
A video of Navy veteran calling for a boycott of all Pilot and Flying J locations has gone viral on social media, garnering support from thousands of people.
The veteran, whose first name is Matt, explains that he’s upset that Jimmy Haslam, owner of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and CEO of Pilot Flying J, allowed his players to ‘take a knee’ during the pregame performance of the national anthem.
“We just watched the beginning of the Cleveland Browns [game] and the national anthem, and the owner, Jimmy Haslam, allowed most of his team to kneel during the national anthem.”
He then calls for a boycott of all Pilot and Flying J locations.
“Jimmy Haslam owns all the Pilots and Flying Js in the country. What you need to do if you support this is … do not go to a Pilot, do not go to a Flying J, until he states to his team that no member will be allowed to take a knee during the national anthem.”
Haslam, like many NFL owners, has issued a public statement supporting his players’ decision:
“We view our organization, our league and our players as great unifiers of people. Our players, just like so many others across our league, have been honest and thoughtful with their attempt to bring awareness to the issues of inequality and social injustice. We were incredibly moved by the meaningful and powerful dialogue they initiated within our organization when they spoke of their intent to unify … We must not let misguided, uninformed and divisive comments from the President or anyone else deter us from our efforts to unify.”
The veteran’s video calling for the boycott went viral soon after it was posted on Facebook.
Within 6 hours, the video amassed more than 350,000 views and was shared by more than 13,000 people, with many commenting in support of the proposed boycott:
“As someone who spends at least a thousand dollars a week on fuel at Pilot and Flying J, I will no longer spend a penny in either of these places from now on,” said Facebook user Joseph Simister.
“One thing I learn many years ago is don’t piss off the truckers of the United States they are they ones that drive this country. 🇺🇸” said user Rob Frye.
“If this is the case I will no longer buy any fuel from them period,” commented user Eric Hunt.
“Pilot lost a customer today and I spend hundreds of dollars each week with them.” added user Rodney Sprinkel.
Watch the viral video, calling for the Pilot Flying J boycott, below.