He said in a statement that he loved his country but wanted to elevate “people that don’t have a voice.”

Harry Edwards, a sports sociologist and professor emeritus at U.C. Berkeley, said he was unsurprised that the Bay Area is figuring prominently in the sports world’s clash with Mr. Trump.

A fierce critic of the president, Dr. Edwards said the region’s diversity fostered “creativity and innovation and a heart and mind for struggle.”

“The reality is that California is a microcosmic, computer-charged model of America,” he said. “Everybody came here from somewhere else and we have to make this work.”

On Sunday, N.F.L. players across the country responded to Mr. Trump’s remarks with displays of protest.

The Oakland Raiders, which has the league’s only all-black starting offensive line, took the field about 10 miles from the White House for a game against the Washington Redskins.

The entire unit, along with most of their other teammates, knelt or sat during the national anthem.