Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Trump keeps up attack on players
Other leagues join NFL in defending anthem protests
WASHINGTON — During a week in which a crucial Senate health care vote, his tax plan, the North Korean nuclear threat and Puerto Rico's post-hurricane suffering vied for attention, President Donald Trump carried his feud with the NFL over players who kneel in protest into Monday with a fresh series of tweets.
“The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!” he said in one of his Monday tweets.
Some critics of the president’s comments on the players’ protest accused him of stoking the nation’s racial divisions by directing his ire at mostly black athletes, beginning Friday night during a rally in Huntsville, Ala., where he told the crowd that NFL owners should fire or suspend the players.
NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart was among those who fired back Monday, defending in a conference call players' rights to peacefully protest what they view as racial inequality and police brutality.
“Everyone should know, including the president, this is what real locker room talk is,” Lockhart said, in an apparent reference to the “Access Hollywood” tapes released during the campaign last fall in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women.
Trump returned to Twitter on Monday to praise football fans who booed NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem on Sunday, as he continued for a fourth day his campaign to pressure team owners on the issue.
"These are fans who demand respect for our Flag!" Trump said in a volley of morning tweets, also asserting that only a "small percentage" of players knelt.
An Associated Press count put the number of participating players at more than 200.
His latest comments followed a remarkable Sunday during which players at games across the country locked arms, knelt and stayed in the locker room during the anthem in a show of solidarity against Trump's broadside on the issue. Several team owners also participated.
Fifty-two percent of Americans said in a September 2016 Marist Poll that sports leagues should require players to stand for the national anthem. While a majority of whites, 56 percent, said standing should be required, most Latinos, 55 percent, and nearly half of African-Americans, 48 percent, said athletes should not be made to stand.
Officials and players in other sports also weighed in Monday.
Tony Clark, executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, released a statement endorsing athletes' right to protest during the national anthem. “We will always respect and support all of our players' constitutional rights and freedom of expression,” he said .
National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman said he respects players' views on political and social issues and “people are going to have to decide what makes them comfortable.”
NBA star LeBron James referred to Trump as “that guy,” and defended his decision over the weekend to tweet that the president is a “bum” — a post that quickly became one of Twitter's most-shared ever.
The name-calling continued Monday: Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal said Trump is “a clown” and Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan said the president is a “so-called leader.”
As the criticism rolled in, Trump supporters argued that he was expressing patriotism, not targeting African-Americans.
“It's a perfect example of where the president gets it right,” said Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax and a longtime Trump friend. Ruddy said team officials and the news media are not in line with much of the country. “It's a win for him at the end of the day.”