Dallas Cowboys star QB hits back against national anthem protests, speaks truth about the controversy

Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Dak Prescott has some wisdom for NFL players who plan to continue the national anthem protests this upcoming season.

What did he say?

Prescott believes Americans have heard the sentiment behind the protests — to bring awareness to social injustices and systemic racism — and instead suggested that players who continue to use their platform for the issue begin taking real action off the field, according to NBC Sports.

He explained on Friday:

For me, I’m all about making a chance and making a difference. I think this whole kneeling, and all of that, was all about just raising awareness, and the fact that we’re still talking about social injustice years later, I think we’ve gotten to that point. I think we’ve proved it. We know about social injustice.

I’m up for taking a next step, whatever that step may be for action and not just kneeling. ... I’m very aware of the social injustice we have going on, but I’m about the actions we can do to fix it rather than the silent protest.

Prescott said he respects other players' rights to use their platform to bring attention to issues they believe are important, but lamented the protests have taken away from the spirit of the game.

"So when you bring such a controversy to the stadium, to the field, to the game, it takes away...from the joy and the love that football brings a lot of people," he said.

Prescott, along with the rest of his team, has never kneeled during the national anthem, an action Cowboys owner Jerry Jones adamantly says is against team policy. Jones reiterated the policy this week.

The NFL kicks off its 2018 season with its first pre-season games next week.