President Trump blasted the NFL in a tweet Wednesday after a report said the league is considering keeping players in the locker room during the national anthem next year if protests continue through the rest of this season, saying that’s “almost as bad as kneeling.”
“The NFL is now thinking about a new idea – keeping teams in the Locker Room during the National Anthem next season. That’s almost as bad as kneeling!,” Trump, who’s at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, posted on Twitter. “When will the highly paid Commissioner finally get tough and smart? This issue is killing your league!”
NFL owners are thinking about reverting to previous policy and keeping players in the locker rooms during the playing of the national anthem, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
“I think that if players are still kneeling at the end of the year, then it could very well happen,” the newspaper quoted a source as saying. The issue could be taken up at the league’s meeting in March. Teams and even some owners have taken a knee or stood arm-in-arm after Trump in September said players should be fired for protesting during the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired!” Trump said in an Alabama speech.
