Derek Wolfe is not the villain he's being made out to be

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Derek Wolfe is not afraid to speak his mind.

“I stand because I respect the men who died in real battle, so I have the freedom to battle on the field,” he said in a statement released to ESPN’s Josina Anderson on Sunday morning. “Paying tribute to the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom is why I stand. But everyone these days likes to find a reason to protest, and that’s their right. It’s America, and you are free to speak your mind. I just feel it’s disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their lives and maybe the wrong platform. But like I said, to each their own, it’s AMERICA! The greatest country in the world and if you don’t think we are the greatest country in the world and you reside here, then why do you stay? A lot worse places in the world to call home. Proud to be an American.”

The statement sparked a lot of controversy, most of it surrounding the “why do you stay?” comment. One headline read, “Broncos Derek Wolfe Basically Tells His Black Teammates to Go Back to Africa For Protesting Racism in America.”

And you wonder why Wolfe took issue with the media earlier this year?

“I’m going to hold you guys accountable just like you hold me accountable,” he said in August. “If you have a question about me or my teammates, you ask me or my teammates, and we’ll answer it.”

So on Sunday evening in Buffalo, we did go to the Denver Broncos defensive lineman and gave him a chance to explain not basically what he meant, but exactly what he meant.

“I wasn’t saying that if you’re taking a knee, then you should leave. No,” Wolfe explained frankly. “People took it way out of context, that’s not what I’m saying.”

On Monday, Wolfe again told BSN Denver that he was not directing the “why do you stay?” comment towards his teammates or anyone else that chose to kneel but at those who say they “hate America,” something that no kneeling player has done publically.

Wolfe is strong in his opinions, but he’s not a racist, he is not intolerant or closed-minded, and he doesn’t believe the president he voted for is immune to criticism. The six-year NFL vet loves his country and part that love stems from the fact that you can protest peacefully.

“This is America,” he said. “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. You can feel any way you want to feel about anything. You can say anything you want to say anything you want to say about anything. That’s just the way it is. I feel like I’m going to stand for the National Anthem because to me it symbolizes the soldiers and the men & women who have sacrificed their lives for us.”

“For people that are taking a knee,” he added, “they’re doing it because of the social injustices that they believe are going on—that are going on.”

Whether you disagree with his political affiliation, his decision to stand, his statement from Sunday morning or anything else, Wolfe isn’t the villain you’re looking for. In fact, a lot of people could learn a thing or two about his outlook.

“We can all have our own opinion, and it’s still fine,” he said. “I’ve talked about this 100 times—me and Aqib [Talib], we have completely different views on life, but we’re the best of friends, you know what I mean? Same with me and Domata Peko, we have different views on life, but we’re still good friends. You’re allowed to have your own opinion, that’s the point of being a human, you’re allowed to feel and think the way that you want to feel and think, that’s the great part about being a human being.”

In its own way, the Denver Broncos locker room is a perfect microcosm of the values America was founded on. A group of people from different backgrounds, different religions, different views and different values all coming together, united in search of a common goal.

“We get in debates all the time in the locker room. They’re healthy debates. I’m telling my views, they’re telling their views,” he explained. “We give each other a chance to speak, and we listen to each other when we speak… I feel like the violence that’s going on and all the protesting going on, I feel like people really just need to sit down and listen to each other… Most people, whenever somebody is talking, they already have an idea of what they’re saying in their head. They’re not listening to what’s being presented, they’re thinking about what they want to take from it.”

You can disagree with him on a lot of things but it’s hard to disagree with that.

Big Bad Wolfe? No, not really.

“Love beats hate every time,” he concluded.