The attorney general claims to support both free speech on campuses, and Trump’s ire over football players who refuse to stand for national anthem

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

US attorney general Jeff Sessions faced accusations of hypocrisy after he delivered an impassioned defense of free speech, then moments later backed Donald Trump’s claim that athletes who kneel during the national anthem should be fired.

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Sessions waded into the argument about free speech on campuses, condemning protesters he said were “now routinely shutting down speeches and debates across the country in an effort to silence voices that insufficiently conform with their views”.

In a speech at the Georgetown University law center in Washington DC, he denounced American universities for “transforming into an echo chamber of political correctness and homogenous thought, a shelter for fragile egos”.

His remarks came after alt-right speakers have sparked angry protests or been barred from speaking on campuses.

But moments after he declared “Who decides what is offensive and what is acceptable?”, Sessions turned to Trump’s attempt to shut down peaceful protests by NFL football players who have drawn attention to police brutality by refusing to stand for the national anthem.

Play Video 0:22 Trump attacks NFL anthem protesters – video

“The president has free speech rights, too,” the attorney general said during a brief question-and-answer session, adding that those engaging in peaceful protest during the national anthem were “denigrating the symbols of our nation”.

“I agree there’s a big mistake to protest in that fashion, because it weakens the commitment we have to this nation that has provided us this freedom,” Sessions said, while noting the players “aren’t subject to any prosecution”.

“I would condemn their actions, but not them as human beings,” he said.

Sessions’ comments came amid an escalating feud between Trump and the NFL. The president launched a stunning attack on the league at a rally in Sessions’ home state of Alabama on Friday, where he said: “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’.”

Trump’s remarks prompted a firestorm of criticism from the NFL’s officials, owners, coaches and players, as well as black athletes across the nation. The trend of kneeling during the anthem began with Colin Kaepernick, a black quarterback who wished to draw attention to police brutality and the killings of unarmed black men.

But the president was characteristically unwilling to back down during a White House press conference on Tuesday, insisting he was “ashamed” of some players’ actions while denying that he is preoccupied with the controversy at the expense of other issues, such as the hurricane relief effort in Puerto Rico.

“I’ve heard that before, about, was I preoccupied? Not at all. I have plenty of time on my hands. All I do is work,” Trump said. “And to be honest with you, that’s an important function of working: it’s called respect for our country.”

Trump again sought to portray the kneeling protests as an insult to military veterans who had been killed or maimed in the line of duty.

“Many people have died, many, many people,” he continued. “Many people are so horribly injured. I was at Walter Reed hospital recently and I saw so many great young people and their missing legs and their missing arms and they’ve been so badly injured and they were fighting for our country, they were fighting for our flag, they were fighting for our national anthem. And for people to disrespect that by kneeling during the playing of our national anthem I think is disgraceful.”

When Sessions arrived at the Georgetown law building, dozens of demonstrators stood at the steps of the building in protest. Several brandished signs invoking Trump’s disregard for the free speech of black athletes, with one stating, “What about Kap?” in a reference to Kaepernick.

Sessions came to address free speech on college campuses, a subject that has emerged as a political flashpoint as students have vigorously decried controversial speakers.

“There are those who will say that certain speech isn’t deserving of protection. They will say that some speech is hurtful – even hateful,” Sessions said.

“They will point to the very speech and beliefs that we abhor as Americans. But the right of free speech does not exist only to protect the ideas upon which most agree at a given moment in time.”

Sessions criticized school administrators who “bend to this behavior,” saying to do so was to “coddle it and encourage it”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Dallas Cowboys, led by owner Jerry Jones, take a knee prior to the national anthem at an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals Monday. Photograph: Matt York/AP



The speech followed protests at the University of California, Berkeley, over a rally held by rightwing commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. Yiannopoulous, a former senior editor for Breitbart News, had planned a four-day “free speech week” that was set to feature other alt-right figures, such as rightwing commentator Ann Coulter, but was canceled by organizers due to logistical complications.

Yiannopoulos spoke at the school in February in a more formal capacity, resulting in protests that occasionally turned violent. Berkeley has spent at least $1.4m on security since February over planned appearances by Yiannopoulos and Coulter, the latter of which was canceled in April following an outcry from students.

Sessions’ own presence at Georgetown garnered significant backlash ahead of his speech. On Monday, 44 members the law school’s faculty signed a statement condemning the attorney general.

“A man who fails to recognize paradigmatic violations of the first amendment is a poor choice to speak about free speech on campuses,” the letter stated.

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The invite-only event did not fill the auditorium where it was held and met with polite applause from attendees. As Sessions concluded his remarks, one row of protesters stood at the center of the room and placed black tape over their mouths.

Ambur Smith, a third-year student who protested outside, said the juxtaposition of Sessions’ defense of free speech and Trump’s attempts to crack down on peaceful protests by black athletes “continues to cut away at their legitimacy”.

“Irony is one word, hypocrisy is definitely another,” she said.