White House chief of staff John Kelly was not pleased with the fight that erupted over the weekend between President Donald Trump and National Football League players who protest by kneeling during the national anthem, two administration officials told CNN.

Trump has been on a three-day crusade since he first commented on the protests at a rally in Alabama Friday, when he said that coaches should get the “son of a bitch” off the field if the player continued to kneel. His chief of staff, a lifelong Marine who was brought in to introduce order into the West Wing, is attuned to race issues and voiced his concern about the matter, one official said.

Kelly attended the Alabama rally and Trump brought him on stage for praise just minutes before he made his NFL comments. Kelly was unaware Trump was going to wade into a culture war just moments later, an official said. The comments were not included in his prepared remarks.