Country over anything… that’s patriotism. Fair enough. But sometimes, no matter how big of a legend you become, you have got to pay tribute to the book. And when Michael Strahan clasped his hand in front, instead of putting it on his heart during the National Anthem for the NFL’s Salute to Service (yup, to the veterans), who knew that he was going to get it from the fans?

The internet was calling the man for being anti-national and had some reason to believe he was protesting by NOT putting his hand on his heart. It was also ironic, considering Michael’s dad served in the army for 23 years. So, it was not adding up. And that’s why the former Giants DE made a clip to clap back at those critics but with utmost brutality. He said: “I have nothing to protest, I have no statement to be made. The only statement that I want to make is that I love the military. I’ve always loved the military. And I will always love the military.”

Strahan was having none of it. In the Instagram video, he also mentioned that to think (out of all the people) he’s unpatriotic is just not fair. He backed that up by mentioning the programs he does to help veterans and soldiers. But not just that, “I grew up on a military base with a father who was a major in the army. My brother, my sister, my cousins, they all served in the military — I’m a military brat.”

Putting all that he said into context, now, shaming Strahan for not putting his hand on his chest just seems too stretched. I mean, he said it perfectly that it was nothing. He just got caught up in the moment. Watching the young soldiers and everything happening, taking it all in, so he forgot to do what everyone around him did, bar him. But to even think that any of the Strahans would be involved in such a drama is just far from the truth (as Michael said).

Michael Strahan is just grateful for his daughter’s win

I mean, you know what the Strahans have gone through right? Isabella, Michael Strahan’s daughter, won against cancer. Major, major life dub. One that you just celebrate every day that you breathe (ever since the news). So, to think, from that ordeal, Michael now wants spice in his life by disrespecting the army. Well, some thinking needs to be done here, folks.

“It was definitely tough and painful to watch that,” Michael said. What Isabella had was medulloblastoma, a rare brain cancer, and Strahan couldn’t hide his fear as he watched her struggle through grueling treatments. Imagine watching your children suffering when you can take their pain away and you don’t have any clue how or what they are feeling. You can just be present. And he did so, what the situation asked of him.

See, the thing is, Isabella, a student at USC, also was brave enough to document her journey—highs and lows in a series of video diaries. Now, that she is back at USC, Strahan admitted, “As a parent, to see that was unsettling at times. But throughout this journey, Isabella has inspired and helped us all.”

Thankfully, Isabella is now cancer-free. Strahan remains grateful. But as he shared, “I don’t think I’ll go through the rest of my life without some worry in some shape or form about this.” So, you see, he already has a lot going on. Why would he drag himself in the middle of the internet firing? Well, that’s a question all who criticized him must answer.