Trump Calls for Boycott if N.F.L. Doesn’t Crack Down on Anthem Protests
- 7 years ago
Trump Calls for Boycott if N.F.L. Doesn’t Crack Down on Anthem Protests
games unless the league fires or suspends players who refuse to stand for the national anthem, saying
that players must “stop disrespecting our flag and country.”
“If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our country, you will see change take place fast,”
Mr. Trump wrote, on the second weekend morning in a row in which he vented over the issue on social media.
The tweet suggested that the president, who used an expletive on Friday night to refer to players who kneel or sit in protest during the anthem — a practice
that took hold last season among some African-American players after Colin Kaepernick, the now-former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, did so to protest racial and social injustice — is bent on deepening a bitter culture-war fight with the N. F.L.
Mr. Trump first raised the protest issue at the Huntsville rally, where he also suggested
that officials who penalize players for hitting too hard during games were “ruining the game.” On Saturday, in a series of early-morning tweets, the president pressed his N. F.L.
Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, who is a close friend of Mr. Trump’s
and who has spent the night at the White House and ridden with him on Air Force One, issued a pointed statement on Sunday in which he said he was “deeply disappointed with the tone of the comments made by the president” at the rally, and defended players’ right to express themselves
It is a highly charged debate, with unmistakable racial undertones, pitting advocates of free speech who argue
that professional athletes should have a right to use their positions to call attention to social issues against those who contend that refusing to honor the anthem disrespects the military and the nation, and that sports is no place for such displays.
If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast.
to protest players’ behavior, arguing that they were eschewing not only the “boring games,” but also athletes who fall to one knee during the anthem.
games unless the league fires or suspends players who refuse to stand for the national anthem, saying
that players must “stop disrespecting our flag and country.”
“If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our country, you will see change take place fast,”
Mr. Trump wrote, on the second weekend morning in a row in which he vented over the issue on social media.
The tweet suggested that the president, who used an expletive on Friday night to refer to players who kneel or sit in protest during the anthem — a practice
that took hold last season among some African-American players after Colin Kaepernick, the now-former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, did so to protest racial and social injustice — is bent on deepening a bitter culture-war fight with the N. F.L.
Mr. Trump first raised the protest issue at the Huntsville rally, where he also suggested
that officials who penalize players for hitting too hard during games were “ruining the game.” On Saturday, in a series of early-morning tweets, the president pressed his N. F.L.
Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, who is a close friend of Mr. Trump’s
and who has spent the night at the White House and ridden with him on Air Force One, issued a pointed statement on Sunday in which he said he was “deeply disappointed with the tone of the comments made by the president” at the rally, and defended players’ right to express themselves
It is a highly charged debate, with unmistakable racial undertones, pitting advocates of free speech who argue
that professional athletes should have a right to use their positions to call attention to social issues against those who contend that refusing to honor the anthem disrespects the military and the nation, and that sports is no place for such displays.
If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast.
to protest players’ behavior, arguing that they were eschewing not only the “boring games,” but also athletes who fall to one knee during the anthem.