(INDYSTAR) — INDIANAPOLIS – Jim Saddler is sorry. That’s the first thing he wants you to know. Not sorry for being angry — he’s still pretty angry — but for the way he handled his anger when he saw a volleyball player kneeling during the national anthem. As an Indiana High School Athletic Association licensed official for more than two decades, he knows he has an obligation to honor his commitments.
It’s just like being in the military, the Air Force veteran said.
“In the Air Force, you have a duty, and you do it,” Saddler, a retired Presidential Flight Attendant on Air Force One, told IndyStar on Thursday. “The same with sporting events. I guess I went AWOL. I feel bad about it.”