Trump: NFL should fire players who kneel during nat'l anthem
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA — President Donald Trump says National Football League owners should fire players who kneel during the national anthem. And he's encouraging spectators to walk out in protest.
In an extended riff during a freewheeling rally speech in Alabama Friday night, Trump also bemoaned that football games have become less violent. "They're ruining the game," he complained.
Several athletes, including a handful of NFL players, have refused to stand during "The StarSpangled Banner" to protest of the treatment of blacks by police. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the trend last year when he played for the San Francisco 49ers, hasn't been signed by an NFL team for this season.
Trump says those players are disrespecting the flag and deserve to lose their jobs. "That's a total disrespect of our heritage. That's a total disrespect of everything that we stand for," he said, encouraging owners to act. "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, you'd say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He's fired," Trump said to loud applause.
Trump, who was in Alabama campaigning for Senator Luther Strange, also predicted that any owner who went through with his encouragement would become "the most popular person in this country"–at least for a week.
Trump said the anthem protest was the top reason NFL viewership had waned. He then encouraged his supporters to pick up and leave the stadium next time they spot a player failing to stand. "I guarantee things will stop," he said.