Players ignore Trump’s call not to kneel

SOME National Football League players knelt again yesterday when the US national anthem was played before a game in London, defying US President Donald Trump’s renewed call to end their protest over racial injustice.

The Fox television network’s broadcast of the day’s first game, at Wembley Stadium, showed three members of the Miami Dolphins kneeling as US star Darius Rucker performed The Star Spangled Banner. All the other Dolphins players and their opponents, the New Orleans Saints, were standing, many with their right hands over their chests.

The three players who had knelt stood for the British anthem, God Save the Queen.

On the eve of yesterday’s 14 NFL games, Trump on Saturday renewed his sharp criticism of players who refused to stand during the pre-game ceremony.

“Very important that NFL players STAND tomorrow, and always, for the playing of our national anthem,” Trump posted on Twitter.

“Respect our flag and our country!”

On September 22, he touched off a national controversy that has enveloped the country’s most popular sports league.

Some African-American players adopted the gesture of kneeling during the anthem over the last year to protest against racial disparities in the US criminal justice system.