The Daily Telegraph

Pence walks out of NFL game after players take a knee

Trump says he is proud of vice-president after asking him to leave stadium if stars ‘disrespect­ed’ US anthem

- By Julie Allen in Washington

MIKE PENCE, the US vice-president, walked out of an American football game after being asked to do so by Donald Trump, in protest at players kneeling during the national anthem. Mr Pence, who has often gone out of his way to demonstrat­e loyalty to the president, was attending a game between the Indianapol­is Colts and the San Francisco 49ers last night.

Some players from the 49ers knelt during the anthem, while some Colts wore black T-shirts with the words “We Will” on the front and “Stand for equality, justice, unity, respect, dialogue, opportunit­y” on the back. The players stood with their arms locked.

“I left today’s Colts game because President Trump and I will not dignify any event that disrespect­s our soldiers, our flag, or our national anthem,” Mr Pence said in a statement.

“At a time when so many Americans are inspiring our nation with their courage, resolve and resilience, now more than ever we should rally around our flag and everything that unites us.

“While everyone is entitled to their own opinions, I don’t think it’s too much to ask NFL players to respect the flag and our national anthem.”

Mr Trump has sharply criticised players for the kneeling protests and pressed the NFL to ban them. “I asked Vice-president Pence to leave stadium if any players knelt, disrespect­ing our country. I am proud of him and Second Lady Karen,” he tweeted.

Eric Reid, a 49ers player who began kneeling alongside team-mate Colin Kaepernick more than a year ago, called Mr Pence’s departure a “PR stunt”.

“He knew our team has had the most players protest. He knew that we were probably going to do it again. This is what systemic oppression looks like,” he said, according to NBC. “A man with power comes to the game, tweets a couple of things out and leaves with an attempt to thwart our efforts.”

The protests began last year when former 49ers quarterbac­k Kaepernick took a knee in response to what he saw as growing racial inequality in the US.

He later lost his profession­al contract and has not played since.

The movement reached fever pitch after Mr Trump criticised players during a rally in Alabama last month. He provoked condemnati­on from the sport when he said: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespect­s our flag, you’d say, ‘Get that son of a b---- off the field right now. Out! He’s fired!’”

Mr Trump has refused to back down and called for fans to boycott games.

There was confusion on Sunday as CBS reported that Kaepernick had indicated he would stand for the anthem if given an NFL contract.

But the CBS reporter who spoke to Kaepernick later said: “I didn’t ask him if he would sit or stand.”

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