More NFL players on knee after Trump urges firings

New England Patriots players kneel during the national anthem before their game Sunday with the Houston Texans in Foxborough, Mass. Other players stood and locked arms.
New England Patriots players kneel during the national anthem before their game Sunday with the Houston Texans in Foxborough, Mass. Other players stood and locked arms.

NFL players across the country demonstrated during the national anthem Sunday in a show of defiance against President Donald Trump, who last week indicated a desire for owners to fire players who knelt in protest.

About 200 players sat, knelt or raised their fists in defiance during the early games.

A week ago, just six players protested.

The players' demonstrations came hours after Trump on Sunday morning urged fans to boycott the sport to force change and renewed demands that protesting players be fired.

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"If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast," Trump wrote. "Fire or suspend!"

"NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN," he continued in a second tweet. "Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S."

As he prepared to board Air Force One to return to Washington from New Jersey on Sunday, Trump said the players protesting the anthem were "very disrespectful to our country" and called again on owners to stop what he considers unpatriotic displays in America's most popular sport.

"This has nothing to do with race," Trump said. "This has to do with respect for our country.

The NFL and its players, often at odds, have been united in condemning the president's criticisms. One of Trump's biggest supporters in the NFL, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, joined the chorus of criticism of the president when he expressed "deep disappointment" with Trump.

"I like Bob very much. He's my friend. He gave me a Super Bowl ring a month ago. So he's a good friend of mine and I want him to do what he wants to do," Trump said. "We have a great country. We have great people representing our country, especially our soldiers, our first responders, and they should be treated with respect.

"And when you get on your knee and you don't respect the American flag or the anthem."

On ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defended Trump's comments, saying that NFL owners should vote on new rules prohibiting the practice.

"This is about respect for the military, the first responders," he said.

Of the players, Mnuchin said: "They have the right to have their First Amendment off the field. This is a job."

The protests started more than a year ago when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand during the anthem as a protest of police treatment of minority-group members. This season, no team has signed him, and some supporters believe NFL owners are avoiding him because of the controversy.

Defensive star Von Miller was among the majority of Denver Broncos who took a knee Sunday in Buffalo, N.Y., where Bills running back LeSean McCoy stretched during the "Star Spangled Banner."

"We felt like President Trump's speech was an assault on our most cherished right, freedom of speech," said Miller, who normally steers clear of politics and social issues.

In Chicago, the Pittsburgh Steelers stayed in the tunnel except for one player, Army veteran Alejandro Villanueva, who stood outside with a hand over his heart. Both the Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans stayed inside until after the national anthem was over in Nashville, a throwback to the pre-2009 NFL when teams, not the league, set pregame policy regarding players standing on the sideline for the anthem.

A handful of NFL players have refused to stand during the anthem to protest several issues, including police brutality. But the number of players protesting ballooned Sunday after Trump's three-day weekend rant that began with the president calling for NFL protesters to be fired and continued Saturday with the president rescinding a White House invitation for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors over star Stephen Curry's criticism of Trump.

But as players across the country went to their knees before games, other teammates and coaches locked arms in solidarity on Sunday afternoon. Trump tweeted his own interpretation of the protest, calling it "great solidarity for our national anthem."

"Standing with locked arms is good, kneeling is not acceptable. Bad ratings!" Trump said.

Tom Brady was among the New England Patriots who locked arms in solidarity in Foxborough, Mass. Aaron Rodgers did the same with his teammates in Green Bay.

FANS DIVIDED

The reaction to Sunday's NFL anthem demonstrations was sharply divided on social media, with many fans taking the players to task for their perceived disrespect for the flag, and America. Others disagreed with the president's statements and backed the players.

Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, echoed Trump on Sunday by urging owners on Twitter to fire players who did not stand. "Pro-Players have the right to freedom of speech. Owners do, too. And should exercise it by firing offending players."

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas said on Fox News, "I wish that some of these players who get on one knee would get on both knees and thank God they live in the United States."

Eric Holder Jr., former U.S. attorney general, provided a history lesson: "Taking a knee is not without precedent Mr. President. Those who dared to protest have helped bring positive change."

Clay Travis, a Fox Sports contributor, tweeted, "Sports media's outraged over Trump NFL anthem comments. Yet vast majority of fans agree. Huge disconnect in sports between fans/media."

The president's comments Friday night and Saturday turned the anthems -- usually sung during commercials -- into must-watch television shown live by the networks. In some NFL stadiums, crowds booed or yelled at players to stand. There was also some applause.

The issue reverberated across the Atlantic, where about two dozen players took a knee during the playing of the U.S. anthem at Wembley Stadium before the Baltimore Ravens played the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"We stand with our brothers," Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "They have the right and we knelt with them today. To protest, nonviolent protest, is as American as it gets, so we knelt with them today to let them know that we're a unified front."

Jaguars owner Shad Khan and players on both teams who were not kneeling remained locked arm-in-arm throughout the playing of the anthem and "God Save The Queen." No players knelt during the British anthem.

PRO SPORTS RESPONSE

Trump's targeting of top professional athletes in football and basketball brought swift condemnation from executives and players in the National Football League and the National Basketball Association.

The National Hockey League's reigning champion Pittsburgh Penguins announced Sunday that they've accepted a White House invitation from Trump. The Penguins said they respect the office of the president and "the long tradition of championship team visiting the White House."

"Any agreement or disagreement with a president's politics, policies or agenda can be expressed in other ways," the Penguins said. "However, we very much respect the rights of other individuals and groups to express themselves as they see fit."

Sports hasn't been immune from America's deep political rifts, but the president's delving into the NFL protests started by Kaepernick brought new attention to the issues.

Trump's comments drew sharp responses from some of the nation's top athletes, with LeBron James calling the president a "bum." Hours later, Major League Baseball saw its first player take a knee during the national anthem when Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell knelt in protest.

TV networks are already worried about declining viewership of the NFL, which has endured a rash of public relations disasters in recent years.

"There will be a lot of attention paid to ratings, and it will be fascinating to see if more people tune into the beginning of games just to see what happens," said Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group.

America First Policies, a nonprofit group run by allies of Trump, launched a Facebook ad Sunday aimed at millions of people across the country that urges them to stand with the president by turning off National Football League games.

"Rather than watch the NFL disrespect our country," the ad reads, "turn on something that honors the great men and women who make sacrifices to protect our freedom and what our Great American Flag stands for."

NFL ratings were down in nine of 13 time periods through the pro season's first two weeks, according to Sports Media Watch -- a troubling development for the nation's most-watched networks. The NFL grabs viewers from all ages, demographics, genders, political beliefs and backgrounds. The Super Bowl is the most-watched TV event every year.

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AP/EVAN VUCCI

President Donald Trump, speaking with reporters Sunday in Morristown, N.J., before returning to Washington, again called on National Football League team owners to quash “very disrespectful” protests by players who refuse to stand for the national anthem. “This has nothing to do with race,” Trump said. “This has to do with respect for our country.”

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AP/BEN MARGOT

Mark Canha of the Oakland Athletics puts his hand on the shoulder of teammate Bruce Maxwell as Maxwell kneels Sunday before a game against the Texas Rangers in Oakland, Calif.

Information for this article was contributed by Arnie Stapleton, Dennis Waszak Jr., Steve Reed, Larry Lage, Teresa M. Walker, John Wawrow, Stephen Whyno and Zac Boyer of The Associated Press; Lucas Shaw and Olga Kharif of Bloomberg News; Abby Phillip, Cindy Boren, Matea Gold and Sean Sullivan of The Washington Post; and Ken Belson, Victor Mather and Benjamin Hoffman of The New York Times.

A Section on 09/25/2017

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