Danica Patrick's dad takes subtle national anthem shot at her NFL boyfriend
No matter how old you get, parents will always find that perfect way to needle you.
Embarrassing one’s child in front of their significant other is a timeless talent, apparently.
Take, for example, recently retired NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and her father, T.J. Patrick.
Danica started a high-profile inter-sports relationship with Green Bay Packers superstar Aaron Rodgers that grabbed a lot of attention from sports fans. Danica has been one of the most publicized NASCAR drivers in recent memory, while Rodgers has arguably been the best quarterback in the last decade of the NFL.
While Danica and Rodgers first kept their relationship under wraps, it didn’t take long in the digital social media age for their relationship to become common knowledge. Once the cat was out of the bag, it didn’t take long for the two to start doing what most new couples do during their honeymoon period — post photos on Facebook.
It was on Facebook that T.J. couldn’t resist taking a subtle shot at his daughter’s new boyfriend.
T.J. shared a photo of Danica and Rodgers taken during the national anthem before the Daytona 500.
“No kneeling in NASCAR !! Hand in (sic) heart!!” T.J. commented under the photo.
T.J. has always been an outspoken critic of NFL players kneeling or otherwise protesting during the national anthem. He’s commented and posted memes targeting national anthem protesters, even comparing former NFL player-turned-veteran Glen Coffee and free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
At first glance, T.J.’s comments about the Daytona 500 photo seem innocuous enough. He’s just a proud father and NASCAR fan reminding everyone that no NASCAR driver has ever knelt during the national anthem.
But his second comment is raising a few eyebrows online. Many are speculating that his heart comment was a sly reference to Rodgers.
The Green Bay star faced rare criticism from Packers fans when he infamously asked them to stand with their arms linked instead of with their hands over their heart during the national anthem before a Week 4 game against the Chicago Bears last year.
To put it lightly, it didn’t work out for Rogers. The overwhelming majority of Packers fans stood at attention with their hands on their heart for the national anthem.
Clearly, had T.J. Patrick been in attendance during that game, he, too, wouldn’t have complied with Rodgers’ request.
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