FL Republican gets blasted online for using Jose Fernandez’ death to smear national anthem protester
A Trump-supporting Florida Republican candidate is getting pounded online for a tweet he posted Sunday that used the tragic death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez to score a cheap political point.
The New York Daily News reported that within an hour of the team’s announcement that Fernandez, 24, had perished in a late night boating accident, state Rep. Matt Gaetz (R) used the incident to disparage athletes who protest during the national anthem.
“To all who will kneel during the anthem today — just remember how Jose Fernandez risked his life just for the chance to stand for it,” Gaetz tweeted.
Fernandez defected to the U.S. from Cuba when he was 15 years old after making multiple previous attempts. During his perilous 2007 passage to the U.S., he plunged into the water at once point to save his drowning mother.
(Juicy tweets at link)
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/09/fl-republican-gets-blasted-online-for-using-jose-fernandez-death-to-smear-national-anthem-protesters/