YOU KNEED TO SEE THIS
don stirs broad anger with rip on pro athletes
PRESIDENT TRUMP faced off against the sports world on Saturday, attacking some of the country’s most popular athletes and telling others they should “find something else to do” if they disrespect the national anthem or the flag.
Over the course of 24 hours, Trump urged National Football League owners to fire protesting players, encouraged fans to boycott games and warned basketball star Stephen Curry that he is not welcome at the White House.
Trump’s comments, which did not touch on the social justice issues underlying the protests, sparked immediate backlash from prominent African-American athletes and others.
DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, echoed many of his outraged players in a statement.
“We will never back down,” Smith wrote. “We no longer can afford to stick to sports.”
Smith said the union won’t shy away from “protecting the constitutional rights of our players as citizens as well as their safety as men who compete in a game that exposes them to great risks.”
Several players have chosen to kneel or sit during “The Star-Spangled Banner” to protest the treatment of black people by police.
Oakland A’s rookie catcher Bruce Maxwell became the first Major League Baseball player to take part in the protest when he knelt during the national anthem before the team’s game against Texas Saturday. (See full story on Page 65.)
Later in the evening, Stevie Wonder got down on his knees while performing at the 2017 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park. “Tonight, I’m taking a knee for America,” he said.
Trump’s crude call, during a political rally in Alabama on Friday night, said team owners should cut players who take part in the protest, telling them to “get that son of a b---off the field right now.”
He doubled down on Saturday, blasting the NFL and “other leagues,” saying players should “find something else to do” if they disrespect the national anthem or the U.S. flag.
The President also turned his ire on Curry, telling him on Twitter that he is no longer invited to Washington to celebrate the Golden State Warriors’ NBA title.
The call came hours after the two-time MVP said he has no interest in attending any celebrations at the White House.
Trump continued that it “is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!”
Curry chatted with reporters Saturday afternoon after being singled out by Trump.
“It’s just kinda beneath, I think, for the leader of a country to go that route,” he said. “It’s not what leaders do.”
LeBron James jumped to Curry’s defense, responding on Twitter by calling the President a “bum.”
“Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!” the Cleveland Cavaliers star wrote.
The Warriors announced later in the day that they no longer felt they would be welcome at the White House and will be skipping the usual ceremonies.
It is likely the first time in history an entire professional sports team has told the White House “no thanks” to being honored for a championship.
“In lieu of a visit to the White House, we have decided that we’ll constructively use our trip to the nation’s capital in February to celebrate equality, diversity and inclusion — the values that we embrace as an organization.”
Trump’s comments on Friday focused on the NFL, drawing widespread rebukes from the league, players and even some of the owners he counts as close friends.
“Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
New York Giants owners John Mara and Steve Tisch called the remarks “inappropriate, offensive and divisive.”
Several people noted that Trump used harsher language for players peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights than he did when condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists who gathered at a violent rally in Virginia.
“Where was Trumps ‘son of a b----’ comments when the racists gathered in Charlottesville?! He spoke about them in a respectable