The owner of one of New Jersey’s largest car dealerships is pulling his television advertisements during NFL games due to players’ protests during the national anthem.

Steve Kalafer sells 16 brands of cars in dealerships in Flemington, Clinton and Princeton. He says that he is unhappy with the protests.

“It personally was like a stomach blow to me. This did not need to happen,” he says.

Kalafer says that customers have also been questioning what has been going on.

“Customers and employees said, ‘Are we supporting the NFL and its owners?’ I said, ‘We cannot,’” Kalafer says.

The car dealer says that there is a place for protest and the quest for social justice. But he says that team owners should have come up with a cohesive policy on protests before it became so controversial.

The protests picked up steam after President Donald Trump said that any player who participated should be fired.

Kalafer, who is also part-owner of the Somerset Patriots minor league baseball team, says that he believes that NFL players could find more productive ways to make a social statement.

“The goal is to go into communities with the resources of the [NFL] and partner with the players and do the work,” he says.

The dealership ads have been pulled for the remainder of the NFL season. Kalafer says that he will re-evaluate the advertising for the next year.