Locker socker Trump
New anthem blitz
President Trump renewed his war with the NFL on Wednesday after a report said the league is considering keeping players in the locker room during the national anthem next year if protests continue through this season.
“The NFL is now thinking about a new idea — keeping teams in the Locker Room during the National Anthem next season. That’s almost as bad as kneeling!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
“When will the highly paid Commissioner finally get tough and smart? This issue is killing your league!”
NFL owners are thinking about reverting to a previous policy they sacked in 2009 and keep players in their locker rooms during the national anthem, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
“I think that if players are still kneeling at the end of the year, then it could very well happen,” a source told the newspaper.
The issue could be taken up at a league meeting in March.
After Trump in September said players should be fired for protesting during the playing of “The StarSpangled Banner,” some players responded by sitting or kneeling during the anthem.
“Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired!” Trump said at an Alabama rally speech two months ago.
His remarks sparked a firestorm that led to conversations about the limits of the First Amendment, respect for the military, the country and the flag and whether NFL players could be fired for protesting before games.
Although the number of protests has since dwindled, a few athletes are still refusing to stand.
In a game against the New England Patriots in Mexico City on Sunday, Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch stood for the Mexican anthem but sat during the American anthem.
Trump lashed out at him on Twitter.
”Marshawn Lynch of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders stands for the Mexican Anthem and sits down to boos for our National Anthem. Great disrespect!” Trump tweeted Monday.
“Next time NFL should suspend him for remainder of season. Attendance and ratings way down,” the president continued.
The protests began last season when then-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat and then began kneeling during the anthem to call attention to racial inequality and police brutality.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the league believes “everyone should stand for the national anthem” but would not change its policies to force players to do so.