I wrote, "Getting your knickers in a twist over someone exercising their right to free speech doesn't make you patriotic."
No, it doesn't, because the people kneeling were exercising their patriotism by showing their support of one of its most important principles and doing it in the face of popular opposition, even in defiance of authority. It doesn't get more American than that. Love and devotion aren't only found in praise, but also in discipline. That can sometimes be a harsher measure, a judgment predicated on the expectation of better.
No, it wouldn't be "patriotic" unless you have a really bad dictionary. Also, your attempts at parallel aren't parallel given the empirical data on disparate, negative treatment for blacks and other minorities in this country.
Nothing in what they did attacked the anthem or the flag. And what they did was in service to the principles that make those symbols meaningful.
It's not the choice I'd have felt obliged to make, but I can respect it as an exercise in keeping with our traditions.