"Sitting during the anthem in protest was not to disrespect the flag or the country."
The problem is that by protesting the flag and anthem, the protest paints with such a broad stroke that it is open to very wide interpretation.  The protesters seem to ignore the facts that most police are good, police forces are local, not federal, most white people are not (intentionally) racist, and that many veterans hold the flag and anthem in high reverence.  Throw in the spoiled millionaire factor and the protest, to me, seems wildly misguided.