Photo: Henry Browne/ Getty Images

There’s an interesting story at ESPN today about how NFL executives and owners are dealing with Donald Trump. Trump, as you may recall, called Colin Kaepernick a “son of a bitch” before last weekend’s games, adding that any player protesting police brutality during the national anthem should be fired. Trump’s comments galvanized many NFL players to kneel during the anthem last weekend.




The story, by Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, details how Goodell called NFLPA president DeMaurice Smith on Monday morning in an attempt to see if he could get the protest called off. It also notes that, though the owners were “all pissed at the president,” none of them wanted to get into a battle with the groper-in-chief. The report says Dan Snyder was worried about a “$40 million” sponsor pulling out.

Also, the NFL has a conference room with a “large, football-shaped table” in it. I demand photos!


But the funniest fact in the story comes about one response the NFL had floated:

There was a general, if fanciful, consensus that even a short-term financial hit could benefit the league in the long term, especially if the league and the union could join in solidarity behind a single plan. That’s how the league’s marketing department was planning to proceed, even if some of the rough ideas fell flat. One idea had all players wearing a patch on their jerseys that would read, “Team America.” An owner briefed on the proposal simply shook his head: “We need to do better than that.”

Team America! For those of us who love humorous fuck-ups, it is incredibly disappointing the NFL did not go that route.

[ESPN]