Civil libertarians, racial justice advocates, and NFL players from across the league expressed outrage overnight after President Donald Trump called on owners of professional football teams to fire players who express their political views.

In a veiled reference to quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who last season started a wave of protest by kneeling during pre-game National Anthems in protest of police killings of unarmed black men, Trump said during a campaign-style rally in Alabama on Friday night, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of the NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now?'”

This is the President of the United States referring to an American who has exercised his right to protest racial injustice. https://t.co/Tb764vWjuT — ACLU (@ACLU) September 23, 2017

Trump used harsher language to describe Kaepernick than he used for the Nazis and white supremacists. #IStandWithKap https://t.co/NBebJ0gwBL — ColorOfChange.org (@ColorOfChange) September 23, 2017

Bishop Sankey, running back for the Minnesota Vikings who called the president’s behavior a “disgrace,” was among the many players in the league who condemned the president for his comments.

It's a shame and disgrace when you have the President of the US calling citizens of the country sons of a bitches. — Bishop Sankey (@BishopSankey) September 23, 2017

Kaepernick remains unsigned to a team this season and though Trump did not mention him specifically by name the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has remained a key target among right-wingers who express the opinion that black athletes should keep quiet about their political opinions.

As journalist and justice activist Shaun King tweeted:

At the root of Trump's hatred for Obama is the same thing as his hatred for Kaepernick. He despises Black men w/ power he doesn't give them — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) September 23, 2017

When asked by a reporter about the president’s insult that appeared to reference her son, Kaepernick’s mother reportedly responded by saying, “Guess that makes me a proud bitch!”

Meanwhile, ESPN journalist Jemele Hill, who also became a target of the White House recently after stating publicly she considers Trump a white supremacist (a widely held belief which plenty of evidence supports), took to Twitter and predicted that neither owners nor league officials would speak out against the president’s latest statement.

Prediction: Not one NFL owner, not Roger Goodell will say one word about what he said about Kaep or other NFL players. Not. A. One. https://t.co/tBv3Q5FZHp — Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 23, 2017

And King, making the argument that Kaepernick remains unsigned specifically for his protests last year, added:

If you don't understand Trump's threats against the @NFL have EVERYTHING to do with Kaepernick being unemployed you aren't paying attention — Shaun King (@ShaunKing) September 23, 2017

Top photo | San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Eli Harold, quarterback Colin Kaepernick and safety Eric Reid kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Common Dreams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.