When Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva held his hand to his heart while the rest of his team sat out the national anthem on Sunday, he was hailed a hero by conservative media outlets and others whod deemed the #TakeTheKnee protests sweeping the NFL as disrespectful to the flag and the military.

But Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan as a U.S. Army Ranger , pushed back on this narrative on Monday , saying that he was embarrassed that he unintentionally left his teammates behind. He also defended the players who sat out the pregame ritual.