Will NFL players protest Donald Trump’s comments during national anthem?
On Sept. 22, Donald Trump made statements directed at players who have been protesting the national anthem.
At a political rally on Friday, Sept. 22 for Republican Sen. Luther Strange, Donald Trump took some time to talk about NFL players who have protested the national anthem.
On the morning of Sept. 23, the President of the United States also took to Twitter to talk about these players. These statements, which we have below, have consequently incensed players across the NFL.
Donald Trump’s statements at the rally included calling players who protest the national anthem “disrespectful”. He then took a swipe at the NFL’s recent attempts to combat player injuries by penalizing certain hits for unnecessary roughness. Below is a timeline from his comments about the NFL.
"“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a b—- off the field right now. Out. He’s fired! He’s fired!”President Donald Trump"
Furthermore, on Sept. 23, President Trump followed up with two tweets, reiterating his point that he would like to see NFL players who do not stand for the national anthem be fired.
If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL,or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
...our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
Many players have protested the national anthem this year. Will more players join them? In addition, after Hue Jackson made a statement saying he “would hope that we don’t have those issues” referring to the protests, many members of his team knelt the next game.
Many players, owners and even the commissioner himself have spoken out against Trump. Trump has since retaliated. There is an obvious divide between Trump’s comments and how the NFL has handled the protests so far.
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In conclusion, we do not know what will happen. Maybe more players will join the protests; maybe the players who have yet to join in will stay consistent. We will have to wait and see.