Trump: NFL owners are scared of their players

NFL team owners are hesitant to stop their players from kneeling in protest during the national anthem because “they’re afraid of their players,” President Donald Trump said Wednesday, insisting that they should ban the practice for the entire league.

“I have so many friends that are owners. And they’re in a box. I mean, I’ve spoken to a couple of them. They say, ‘We are in a situation where we have to do something,’” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” that was taped Wednesday and aired Thursday morning. “I think they're afraid of their players, you want to know the truth, and I think it's disgraceful. And they’ve got to be tough and they’ve got to be smart.”


The president began his public tirade last week against the NFL and its players who kneel during the national anthem — an act to protest racial inequality in the U.S. Last Friday at a rally in Alabama, Trump asked the crowd, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now — he’s fired.’”

The remark, along with a flurry of tweets over the weekend, seemed only to fuel the protest from NFL players. Even more players knelt during the anthem than before, while other teams stood on the sidelines with their arms interlocked in a show of unity. Three teams, the Tennessee Titans, Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers, opted to remain in their locker rooms during the anthem.

Trump, too, has kept up the pressure on the subject, insisting that his rhetoric has nothing to do with race as he attempts to quell the protest that began last season when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick would kneel during the anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Trump has reiterated his demand that the NFL institute a rule requiring players to stand for the anthem.

“The NFL cannot disrespect our country. They cannot disrespect our flag or our national anthem. And they can't have people sitting down or kneeling down during our national anthem,” the president said. “I’ve seen a couple stadiums over the last few weeks, there are a lot of empty seats. I couldn't even believe it. But when it comes to the respect of our nation, when it comes to the respect of our anthem and our flag, they have no choice. You have to have people stand with respect.”