Defiance over anthem
NFL players across U.S. demonstrate after scolding by Trump on Twitter
National Football League players across the U.S. demonstrated during the national anthem Sunday in a show of defiance against U.S. President Donald Trump, who scolded the league and players on Twitter this weekend. With the support of team owners, players knelt, while others, like Tom Brady, opted to stand and lock arms in a show of solidarity.
Trump OKs locking arms
At 2:20 p.m. ET, about eight hours after tweeting that fans should boycott games, Trump again weighed in on the national anthem demonstrations, issuing his approval for the locking of arms, while still condemning the players who chose to kneel.
Trump wrote, “Great solidarity for our National Anthem and for our Country. Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad ratings!”
The tweet appeared to be Trump suggesting that the players choosing to lock arms were showing support of the anthem, rather than protesting his remarks.
Not all agree
Reaction was sharply divided on social media, with many fans taking the players to task for their perceived disrespect for the flag, and America. Others disagreed with the president’s statements and backed the players.
Conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza urged fans to boo those players. “It’s time to loudly boo teams & players who refuse to respect national anthem — we too can exercise our right to protest.”
Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas said on Fox News: “I wish that some of these players who get on one knee would get on both knees and thank God they live in the United States.”
Eric H. Holder Jr., former U.S. Attorney General, provided a history lesson: “Taking a knee is not without precedent Mr. President. Those who dared to protest have helped bring positive change.”
Clay Travis, a Fox Sports contributor, tweeted: “Sports media’s outraged over Trump NFL anthem comments. Yet vast majority of fans agree. Huge disconnect in sports between fans/media.”
Others, without the platform of public office or celebrity status, also criticized the players who demonstrated. Wednesday wrote: “Our Anthem has always been a sign of respect & pride for freedom. Interesting that privileged millionaires #TakeTheKnee to disrespect it.”
Singer takes a knee
In a first for demonstrations, Rico Lavelle, who sang the anthem in Detroit before the Lions-Falcons game, sunk to one knee and raised a fist at the conclusion.
Brady stands with Patriots
Tom Brady, who is friends with Trump and whose politics have been a cause of much speculation, joined his teammates in locking arms before the Patriots’ game against the Texans. He also put his hand over his heart. While Brady and teammate Phillip Dorsett locked arms, several other Patriots took a knee.
Bill Belichick, the Patriots coach, stood next to Brady during the anthem with his arms crossed in front of his body.
Earlier in the day, Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft issued a statement condemning Trump’s attack on the league, saying he was “deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the president.”
Buffalo demonstration
Reports from 1 p.m. games around the country Sunday showed that dozens of Broncos players knelt in Buffalo. About 10 Saints sat for the anthem at Carolina.
Spectators at the Colts’ home, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, booed loudly after many of the Browns players knelt in a huddle during the national anthem. Colts players locked arms during the anthem despite the boos.
In Philadelphia, Eagles and Giants players and coaches locked arms as a massive American flag was unfurled over the field and military jets performed a flyover. A few players raised fists or knelt, while Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie locked arms with his players and police officers.
Steelers don’t play politics
The Pittsburgh Steelers did not emerge from the locker-room in Chicago during the national anthem before their game against the Bears. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said the team would be unified in their actions, and the ‰For a roundup of Sunday’s National Football League games, see therecord.com.
empty Pittsburgh bench was a stark image of the team’s unity.
“We’re not going to play politics,” Tomlin told CBS before the game. “We’re football players, we’re football coaches. We’re not participating in the anthem today. Not to be disrespectful to the anthem, but to remove ourselves from this circumstance. People shouldn’t have to choose.”
If a guy wants to go about his normal business and participate in the anthem, he shouldn’t have to be forced to choose sides. If a guy feels the need to do something, he shouldn’t be separated from his teammate who chooses not to. So we’re not participating today.”
Tomlin came out alone for the anthem and stood at midfield with his hands behind his back. Steelers offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva, a captain in the U.S. army, stood by the tunnel entrance with his hand over his heart during the ceremony.
Bradshaw sits on fence
Terry Bradshaw, a Hall of Fame quarterback and commentator for Fox, said he did not condone protests during the national anthem, but he argued that they should be allowed. “Every American has the right to speak out and also to protest,” Bradshaw said. “Believe me, these athletes do love this great country of ours. Personally, I think our president should concentrate on serious issues like North Korea and health care rather than ripping into athletes and the NFL.”
Baseball player takes knee
Bruce Maxwell, a rookie catcher with the Oakland Athletics, became the first athlete to protest during the national anthem in a Major League Baseball game Saturday night.
“The point of my kneeling was not to disrespect our military or our Constitution or our country,” Maxwell told the San Francisco Chronicle after the game. “My hand was over my heart because I love this country and I have family members, including my father, who bled for this country, and who continue to serve.
“This goes beyond the black and Hispanic communities, because right now we have a racial divide that’s being practised from the highest power we have in this country, saying it’s basically OK to treat people differently.”
Anthems not everywhere
In Europe, for example, it is unusual to hear an anthem before a major sporting event. Protests during the American anthem also have a pre-Colin Kaepernick history.
Track athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos were kicked out of the 1968 Olympics after raising their black-gloved fists during the anthem in support of human rights. Basketball player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf declined to stand in 1996 because he considered the flag a symbol of racism and was fined.
Ryan ‘appalled’
Rex Ryan, the former Jets and Bills coach who once introduced then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Buffalo, New York, expressed his regret at the flag flap on the morning show “Sunday N.F.L. Countdown.”
“Everyone’s always been united. Yeah, the views are different, but lemme tell you: I’m p***d off,” said Ryan, who now works as an ESPN commentator. “I’ll be honest with you. Because I supported Donald Trump. When he asked me to introduce him at a rally in Buffalo, I did that. But I’m reading these comments and it’s appalling to me and I’m sure it’s appalling to almost any citizen in our country. It should be.”
Jaguars, Ravens kneel
In a pointed rebuke of Trump’s call for NFL owners to fire players who protest during the national anthem, Shahid Khan, the only Muslim owner in the league, locked arms with his Jacksonville Jaguars players Sunday before their game in London.
During the playing of the national anthem, Khan locked arms with tight end Marcedes Lewis and linebacker Telvin Smith, both of whom are black, on the sidelines to show unity with his players who are trying to highlight social injustice and police brutality against African-Americans.
While the NFL and several owners issued statements Saturday saying they supported the players’ protests and were unhappy with the president’s comments, Khan was the first owner to stand with his players.
Khan is also a Republican and contributed money to the president’s inauguration, and has said he supports the president’s economic policies.
But he is also an immigrant and a Muslim, two groups the president has routinely attacked. In February, Khan, who is Pakistani-American, said he opposed the president’s attempt to bar people from some predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States.
‘Insulting and disgraceful’
Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner before Roger Goodell, said on Sunday that he could not speak for the league since he had retired.
But he said it was “insulting and disgraceful” to insult particular players, Sports Illustrated said.