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The headline says trump was right
Liam

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'm a big fan of David French's work, so I was disappointed to read his column " I Understand Why They Knelt." Respectfully (and I mean that), I believe it is off-base on almost every point that matters.

For example, French treats Trump's suggestion that NFL players be fired as a First Amendment issue and an abridgement of their free speech. This is just not so. NFL players do have a right of free speech, but they don't have a right to avoid criticism for engaging in that speech. Despite the fact that Trump said NFL players should be fired, he didn't call for Congress to take action. He didn't try to push through an executive order saying that protesting the flag should be illegal. He hasn't promised that the government will go after the NFL. He used his free speech to criticize their free speech. I'm not sure how that violates the First Amendment or curtails the rights of the NFL players disrespecting our flag, who are still employed.

French then goes on to complain that Trump "did more to politicize sports than ESPN has done in a decade of biased, progressive programming."Except that's exactly backwards. ESPN and the NFL have been slamming politics down our throats for over a year. I know that because I wrote a column calling for conservatives to boycott the NFL a year ago. Many other conservatives have done the same thing, and millions of fans have complained. But when someone with a platform big enough to cut through the noise echoes the complaint so many conservatives have, he's supposed to be at fault?

Then there's the real complaint, an argument that in a roundabout way cuts to the heart of what I believe is wrong with French's approach to the issue. French says: "The hypocrisy runs the other way, too. I was startled to see many conservatives who decried Google's termination of a young, dissenting software engineer work overtime yesterday to argue that Trump was somehow in the right."

I did not expect Donald Trump to win the 2016 election, and like many, many other political professionals, I was egregiously wrong. After listening to what a lot of diehard Trump fans had to say, I took two big lessons away from being that wrong.

The first is that I'm not Nostradamus, and I shouldn't be in the business of definitively saying one candidate will win or lose a race. Hopefully, a lot of us learned that lesson in 2016.

The other is that unfortunately, a large number of conservative Americans have given up on people like me, on people like David French, and on magazines like National Review. Do I think that's right? Fair? Smart? Nope, but I do get it.

They hear us talk all day about our principles as if we're going to solve the problems we have via some kind of discussion among gentlemen. Meanwhile, the liberal response is "You're a Nazi, and you shouldn't be allowed to have a job unless you agree with us." We're trying to win theoretical victories for our principles, but the Left is fighting to win in the real world - and they are coming out on top in the cultural wars with ease. The very fact that we're even having this debate about the NFL (remember when sports was where you went to get away from politics?) tells you who's winning.

You want to be a conservative and have run-of-the-mill political beliefs? Then you'd better work somewhere that's friendly to conservatives, or you might end up like James Damore at Google, Brandon Eich at Mozilla, or even Curt Schilling at ESPN. That's if you don't have some government official really squelching your First Amendment rights by telling you to "bake the cake" or be run out of business. You want to express an ordinary conservative opinion at college? In Hollywood? Then you'd better think twice or prepare for a river of abuse. Even the Boy Scouts are being systematically destroyed. We may not want to fight a culture war, but the reality is that a culture war is being fought against people like us every day whether we like it or not, and the NFL has chosen to be part of that.

A lot of conservatives are tired of the double standard. They just want to watch an NFL game or a movie without having liberal politics slammed down their throat. They're disgusted by the fact that they're treated like dirt by corporations like the NFL, ESPN, Apple, and Starbucks while liberalism is openly embraced. Of course, from a pure business perspective, it's almost hard to blame the companies. If conservatives are always going to defend these corporations and say, "Thank you, Sir; may I have another?" when they smack us around because of our principles, while liberals demand special treatment, it makes all the sense in the world for them to cater to liberals.

When Trump goes after the NFL, what many conservatives see is someone doing something that matters more the next 1,000 essays that we'll write.

So when Trump goes after the NFL, what many conservatives see is someone doing something that matters more the next 1,000 essays that we'll write. Guess what? They're probably right, because - again, respectfully - David French may see an embarrassment, but what the NFL and other increasingly left-leaning corporations see are vast piles of money and legions of fans flying out the window. Those other companies are looking at the NFL and thinking, "Thank God we're not in this situation. We better be a little more careful." If you don't believe that, go take a look at the Facebook fan pages of NFL teams from Monday. Very few of these teams have ever experienced a backlash like this. If you care about an increasingly liberal culture that seems to be going haywire, their bad day because of Trump is a good thing.

Getting back to the job question, I'm glad Colin Kaepernick doesn't have one, and I would love to see NFL players fired for kneeling, because liberals don't care about our arguments or our principles. They only care about the possibility that they might be on the receiving end of the same treatment they give us. Let liberals start getting fired for their views and they may start having some second thoughts. If they don't, we're just evening the playing field, because they're already firing conservatives for their views.

Maybe it would be a better world if we weren't having debates about NFL players and Confederate statues, but that's not the world we live in. This is an issue that matters to an awful lot of Americans, not just because of the disrespect shown to our country, but also because it's symbolic of how liberalism has been allowed to spread unchecked through our culture. If Trump's rants and tweets get more Americans to do something about it, then he has done a good thing.

READ MORE:
No Way to Treat Old Glory
I Understand Why They Knelt
NFL Players Are More Divisive Than Trump

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I'm a big fan of David French's work, so I was disappointed to read his column "I Understand Why They Knelt." Respectfully (and I mean that), I believe it is off-base on almost every point that matters. For example, French treats Trump's suggestion that NFL players be fired as a First Amendment issue and an abridgement of their free speech.

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This article is bias for the NFL because it states what some people are saying about the fact that the NFL is kneeling and it blantly says "that is incorrect." -Nina Ray

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On June 2, 2016, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that Curiel had "an absolute conflict" in presiding over the litigation given that he is "of Mexican heritage" and a member of a Latino lawyers’ association. (When Trump said in a separate interview that Curiel "is a member of a club or society, very strongly pro-Mexican" in referfence to the group, PolitiFact National rated his statement Mostly False.) Trump told the journal the judge’s background was relevant because of his campaign stance against illegal immigration and his pledge to seal the southern U.S. border. "I’m building a wall. It’s an inherent conflict of interest," Trump said.

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https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-protests-donald-trump-a-team-by-team-look-at-week-3-national-anthem-protests/
This article is bia twords the NFL because it shows the different teams that all kneeled or linked arms during the national anthems and their thoughts on what Trump said.

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Surprisingly enough Fox News was actually pretty unbiased here because of them supporting both sides not putting all the blame on one side and explaing why both sides might have did what they did.
Nick Knill

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It showed both sides equally and had different opinions in the video.

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It showed both sides equally and had different opinions in the video.

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http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/09/29/nfl-fans-react-national-anthem-protests-packers-bears-gamehttp://insider.foxnews.com/2017/09/29/nfl-fans-react-national-anthem-protests-packers-bears-game

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This article is not bias because of its information, it talks about Trump and the NFL. It never really talks about one side or the other, it talks about trump and the NFL team as well. Carley Eiselman

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MSN only presents details to show that what the NFL is doin is wrong.

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This is biased for the nfl because it’s Devin Mccourtys (patriots safety) words and his thoughts in this racial profiling and protesting
-carter

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This article is biased toward the NFL because it only mentions the NFL and how their protest was a well thought out decision. It doesn't say what any of the Trump supporters think. Ella Ignacek

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http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/09/28/denver-broncos-not-kneel-during-national-anthem-next-sunday-will-standhttp://insider.foxnews.com/2017/09/28/denver-broncos-not-kneel-during-national-anthem-next-sunday-will-stand

The news video that is posted above shows bias word president Trump. The video makes statements such as "We have done a lot as Americans, we have brought people in from everywhere, and that dedication deserves respect involving our flag and our National Anthem." This statement accuses the NFL of disrespecting America and all of the values that us as a country has put forth, to give our citizens freedom all the way back to our founding fathers.

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http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/09/29/arizona-police-officer-brandon-tatum-slams-nfl-national-anthem-protesters-viral-videohttp://insider.foxnews.com/2017/09/29/arizona-police-officer-brandon-tatum-slams-nfl-national-anthem-protesters-viral-video

This video of a police officer saying what he feels about the NFL players, however he does not see there point of view of the NFL players, and is only saying that trump is right.

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All the NFL players have a right to protest even during the national anthem, because

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http://www.msnbc.com/weekends-with-alex-witt/watch/-u-bum-did-lebron-cross-a-line-or-did-trump-lower-the-bar-1053847619726http://www.msnbc.com/weekends-with-alex-witt/watch/-u-bum-did-lebron-cross-a-line-or-did-trump-lower-the-bar-1053847619726
The MSNBC anchor kept claiming that all the words coming out of a conservatives moith he stated he's saying all garbage and you don't speak the truth

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http://www.newsweek.com/can-anyone-deny-any-more-trump-racist-672380

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/09/25/nfl-vs-trump-we-fundamentally-could-not-disagree-more/699723001/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/09/25/nfl-vs-trump-we-fundamentally-could-not-disagree-more/699723001/

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It says that Colin kapernick should have a job and that the movement is good.

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2735843-how-kneeling-turned-into-dabbing-in-one-week?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorialhttp://bleacherreport.com/articles/2735843-how-kneeling-turned-into-dabbing-in-one-week?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

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This is

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I think this was more bias for the NFL because of the way that the guy was talking in the video. He said that he porsonally agreed with the NFL players that was doing that. He also explained why.

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This news article is bias for trump because they did not give any explanation or reasoning on why you can prostest during the national anthem. Trump said that more people are with him and that it is not right and not American to kneel during the notation anthem. Trump Was talking about how people died for this country and were severely injured for our freedom as Americans.

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Spicy debate
-Ryan Swanson

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This article shows that the NFL players have the right to kneel. The article mentions that they are not disrespecting the flag or anyone, but they are simply protesting against racial injustice instead.

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This article shows that the NFL players have the right to kneel. The article mentions that they are not disrespecting the flag or anyone, but they are simply protesting against racial injustice instead.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/09/25/anthem-kneeling-isnt-aimed-veterans-and-other-nfl-protest-misconceptions/701409001/

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https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/09/25/are-you-talking-about-nfl-today-then-trump-winning/yGTUGl9Y93ePrwHft0yGsJ/story.html

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/president-donald-trump-racist-examples_us_584f2ccae4b0bd9c3dfe5566http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/president-donald-trump-racist-examples_us_584f2ccae4b0bd9c3dfe5566

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This article did not have any bias. It shares  quotes from NFL players and team owners and quotes for, Trump. It merely shares facts it doesn't choose one side and stick to it. -Simrin

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Benedict: in the video the man had been talking about how he personally liked how the NFL players were doing this.

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All the NFL players can have a right to protest, because of

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This is bias for the NFL

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This is both biased for both parties because this is an email between 2 different people
-carter

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All NFL players have a right to protest because, of racial concerns and would be brave to speak up to Trump for them to be treated the same as everyone else.

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NFL protests: Stars should get off their knees and lead a constructive conversation on race

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As more than 100 NFL players protested during the singing of America’s national anthem across the country Sunday, what had been a small protest of the way police treat African-Americans turned into a much larger protest directed at President Trump.

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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday defended President Trump's stance on athlete protests during the national anthem as "pretty black and white."

"I don't think there's much to clarify," Sanders said. "It's pretty black and white there."

The spokeswoman engaged in a lengthy back-and-forth with American Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan over Trump's criticism of the protesting players, most of whom are African-American.

Trump has accused the players of disrespecting the military and the U.S. flag by not choosing to stand during the anthem and has called on the NFL to ban the practice.

Ryan said the controversy "is a racial issue for some people" and suggested the president is papering over the purpose of the protests by accusing the players of bringing in the issue of the military.

"This isn't an us-versus-them, this would be something that brings our country together," Sanders responded. "These are symbols of what our country stands for so that's the opposite of what that is. This should be a very unifying moment, when the national anthem plays, all Americans should be proud to stand up, salute that flag, salute that anthem, and be part of that process."

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White House says Trump's stance on kneeling NFL players is 'pretty black and white'

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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday defended President Trump's stance on athlete protests during the national anthem as "pretty black and white." "I don't think there's much to clarify," Sanders said. "It's pretty black and white there."

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http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/25/nfl-protests-stars-should-get-off-their-knees-and-lead-constructive-conversation-on-race.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/25/nfl-protests-stars-should-get-off-their-knees-and-lead-constructive-conversation-on-race.html

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http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/25/nfl-protests-stars-should-get-off-their-knees-and-lead-constructive-conversation-on-race.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/25/nfl-protests-stars-should-get-off-their-knees-and-lead-constructive-conversation-on-race.html

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Bias against Trump
Vidya M.

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https://www.sbnation.com/2017/9/28/16376500/nfl-protests-2017-kneeling-national-anthem-why

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What Trump said wasn't really nice, but what the football players are doing is a little disrespectful to the flag.

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By Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Kabir Khanna and Anthony Salvanto

Americans like neither the protests during the anthem, nor President Donald Trump's comments on the matter. Views hinge on partisanship, but also shift with how Americans view the intentions, not just the actions, of the players and president. Most Americans say that the players' intention is to try to call attention to racism. However, Republicans also feel the players are trying to disrespect the flag and the military, too - and strongly disapprove.

More Americans also disapprove than approve of the president's comments on the matter, but this too depends on what they think he's trying to do. Republicans see him calling attention to an important issue, and approve of his approach; those who believe the president is intentionally trying to divide and distract the nation, disapprove.

Democrats and independents believe the players are trying to protest what they see as unfair police tactics, racism, and to stick up for others in their communities, but not trying to disrespect the flag and anthem. Most Republicans feel the players are, in fact, trying to show that disrespect.

Overall, Democrats are approving of the protests, Republicans overwhelmingly disapprove. Independents mostly disapprove. There are differences by race -- African Americans are very likely to approve. Among whites, views run along partisan lines.

Overall views of the president's comments about the players kneeling are also marked by partisan divisions. There are differences on race as African Americans are much more likely to disapprove.

At least seven in ten Americans feel the players are trying to draw attention to racism, and what they see as unfair police tactics. But most Republicans, and a third of Independents, feel in addition to that the players are trying to disrespect the military and veterans. Four in ten Americans overall think the players are trying to disrespect the flag and anthem itself.

There is also disagreement over how the players, coaches and owners have responded to the president's comments.

Americans also divide on what President Trump is trying to do. Republicans generally feel he is trying to unite the country by telling everyone to respect the flag. Democrats feel he is trying to divide the country, singling out some groups for criticism.

More Americans also feel President Trump is trying to distract the country from things in his Administration by bringing up the subject than trying to call attention to a matter he feels is important. But here, too the division is partisan.

Most Americans feel the players can use their positions and fame to raise issues, but more Republicans feel they should do so only on their own time, but one-quarter overall, and one-third of Republicans, say players should not do so at all.

There is wide agreement among Americans on many things that the national anthem and flag represent: almost everyone of all stripes feels the flag stands for traditions to be honored; for the military and veterans who've fought for the country; and also the right to free speech any time. But there is a bit more difference over whether the flag and anthem mean loyalty to the government. Six in ten Republicans feel it does. Democrats are less likely to say so.
This CBS News survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,335 U.S. residents interviewed online between September 26-28, 2017. The final sample included an oversample of 241 African Americans and was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, and region based on the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, as well as 2012 and 2016 Presidential vote. Respondents were selected from YouGov's opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents. The weights range from 0.008 to 6.09, with a mean of 1 and a standard deviation of 0.99. The margin of error (a 95% confidence interval) is approximately 3.8% This is a measure of sampling error (the average of all estimates obtained using the same sample selection and weighting procedures repeatedly). The sample estimate should differ from its expected value by less than margin of error in 95 percent of all samples. It does not reflect non-sampling errors, including potential selection bias in panel participation or in response to a particular survey.

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Democrats, Republicans divide over NFL protests, Trump comments - poll

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By Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Kabir Khanna and Anthony Salvanto Americans like neither the protests during the anthem, nor President Donald Trump's comments on the matter. Views hinge on partisanship, but also shift with how Americans view the intentions, not just the actions, of the players and president.

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CLOSE

When Donald Trump veered off on one of his venomous tangents in a speech in Alabama Friday night, calling an African American athlete exercising his First Amendment rights a "son of a bitch," he almost certainly never would have envisioned the picture that would lead the national news 72 hours later:

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a staunch Trump supporter, taking a knee on the field with his players before the national anthem.

More: Donald Trump: 'Big progress being made' after Cowboys' pre-anthem protest

More: Colin Kaepernick inspires a movement with his absence

Congratulations, Mr. President. You've created hundreds of Colin Kaepernicks.

With your divisive rhetoric, you've united NFL owners and players. That has always been difficult to do on almost any subject. You made it look easy.

As they kneeled or stood and locked arms before and/or during the national anthem Sunday and Monday at games around the country and in London - or didn't appear for the anthem at all - they weren't necessarily thinking about Kaepernick and his fight against social injustice.

They were thinking about you.

They were protesting you. They were protesting what you said and how you said it.

They were repudiating you.

Trump can spin this any which way he wants as he whiles away the hours on Twitter, but this time he has met his match. He has picked on people who have a megaphone as large as he does. He has gone after athletes with massive Twitter followings, with microphones in their faces and with devoted fans from red states as well as blue. It's NFL players, it's NBA players, it's NBA coaches: talk about fire and fury. They're letting Trump have it.

Then there are the owners. They, too, have criticized Trump. They've locked arms with their players and Jones, of course, took a knee.

These are Trump's people. Quite a few voted for him and donated to his campaign and inaugural committee. Not long ago, he desperately wanted to be one of them, to own an NFL team. Now, even they are against him.

He's not taking this well. If we've learned anything about his Twitter habits, it's that he never knows when to stop. Half of his eight tweets before noon Tuesday were about the NFL.

He kicked things off with this:

"Ratings for NFL football are way down except before the game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!"

Turns out, NFL ratings were up for the weekend and way up for Monday Night Football.

Next: "The booing at the NFL football game last night, when the entire Dallas team dropped to its knees, was loudest I have ever heard. Great anger."

Arizona fans booing the Dallas Cowboys? Who knew?

"But while Dallas dropped to its knees as a team, they all stood up for our National Anthem. Big progress being made-we all love our country!"

Sounds like our man is moving the goal posts now, trying to do anything to declare victory after a lost weekend.

And, finally: "The NFL has all sorts of rules and regulations. The only way out for them is to set a rule that you can't kneel during our National Anthem!"

Let's all hold our breath while the NFL Competition Committee writes up that one.

Clearly, Trump is obsessed with this. The worse it goes for him, the more he probably will tweet.

Who should Trump blame for all of this? The Kaepernick story had all but burned itself out until he himself brought it back to life, deciding to declare war on American sports and ruin his weekend.

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NFL is winning in fight against President Trump

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CLOSE When Donald Trump veered off on one of his venomous tangents in a speech in Alabama Friday night, calling an African American athlete exercising his First Amendment rights a "son of a bitch," he almost certainly never would have envisioned the picture that would lead the national news 72 hours later: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a staunch Trump supporter, taking a knee on the field with his players before the national anthem.

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http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/28/us/baltimore-ravens-anthem-singer-quits-nfl-protests/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2017/09/28/us/baltimore-ravens-anthem-singer-quits-nfl-protests/index.html

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When I just started reading this article I thought they were biased for Trump, but they even out through the article.

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This article shows both sides.

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This is biased for the NFL because it talks about how Colin Kapernick started the kneeling a year ago and it is still going today.

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I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.
- Colin Kaepernick, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Aug. 26, 2016

Players are encouraged but not required to stand during the playing of the national anthem. - NFL statement ,

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Kaep has every right to express his feelings/beliefs and ppl have every right to disagree. That's ok folks! - Damien Woody , former player

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Regardless of how you feel about the things that are going on in America today and the things that are going on across the world with gun violence and things of that nature, you've got to respect the flag. And you've got to stand up with your teammates. It's bigger than just you, in my opinion. - Victor Cruz , former New York Giants wide receiver

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I will be STANDING during the National Anthem tonight. Thank you to ALL (Gender,Race,Religion) that put your lives on the line for that flag - Justin Pugh , New York Giants offensive lineman

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Easy way to make sure you're NOT the starting QB on opening day. - Matthew Hasselbeck , former quarterback

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Activists changed USA for better but have to associate Nat Anthem w/ military that die for ur right to protest. Stand up. Find another way - Tyler Polumbus , former player

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My view is [the anthem] is about honoring the people that served and made the commitment to our country, some who even made the ultimate sacrifice. When I stand, that's what I'm standing for. I'm standing for the people that came before my father and the people that came after him. - Ron Rivera , Carolina Panthers head coach

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[The anthem] is important to me. It's a respect thing, okay? It's a self-respect thing. It's a respect for your teammates. It's a respect for this game. It's a respect for this country ... It's an opportunity to realize how lucky you are and what you're doing. - Jeff Fisher , former head coach

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Anytime I talk to my team about that, if there's personal beliefs or whatever that keep you from doing it, I understand. But at the same time, you know, you've got to look at the gifts that we have, the opportunity that we have to play a great game is through the men and women that serve our country. I think that's an opportunity right there just to show respect, and I think that's why when you see our team, every one of us are on that line and that's kind of our way of giving thanks. - Rex Ryan , former head coach

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I will always stand for the national anthem. I will also acknowledge the fact that racism is real. People deal with it every day. It's wrong. - Kyle Long , Chicago Bears offensive lineman

"

I agree that America is not perfect. I agree that there are a lot of issues with minorities in this country. And I agree that we should do something about it. But I don't know if the most effective way is to sit down when the National Anthem of a country that has provided you freedom and is providing you $60 million a year is the best way to do it, when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan that are protecting our freedom for less than $20,000 a year.
- Alejandro Villanueva, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman, Aug. 29, 2016

I am with him 100 percent. ... Now if you ask me 'Would I do that?' No I won't, because I see it a little differently. I'm an American citizen, I pay my taxes, I want my equal rights but this is my country, and consequently I don't want to open up for ISIS or anybody that will take away what we've already gained. - Jim Brown , former Cleveland Browns player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

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I disagree. I wholeheartedly disagree. Not that he wants to speak out about a very important issue. No, he can speak out about a very important issue. But there's plenty of other ways that you can do that in a peaceful manner that doesn't involve being disrespectful to the American flag. - Drew Brees , New Orleans Saints quarterback

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I respect his decision to stand up for how he feels, but I don't think you do it in that manner. I think you stand up for the national anthem. It's bigger than just what's going on around our country. You've got people fighting for our lives, fighting for our country every day. - Kenny Vaccaro , New Orleans Saints safety

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It's not equal justice and liberty for all. To stand up for what you believe in, to be willing to take the lumps and hits for what you believe in, I think he should be commended. - Bart Scott , former player

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I cannot say it in the strongest, most direct way, that it's an embarrassment and it's about as disrespectful as any athlete has ever been. ... I don't care what the cause is. The NFL football field is not a place for somebody to further their political ambitions. - Boomer Esiason , former player and current analyst

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Things have happened in Louisiana and the injustices that are happening could have happened to one of my family members. It touched close to home and I just wanted to show my support to him and let him know that he is not the only person who feels the way that he feels. There are a lot of people out there that feel that way. - Eric Reid , San Francisco 49ers safety

"

A lot of scrutiny happens when an athlete starts talking about race, but the truth of the matter is we've just got to do right by each other, no matter what color you are. Certain things that have happened in our life, in our lifetime, it is kind of embarrassing to be affiliated with, but it still happens. Who am I to say, 'Colin, you're wrong'? And who am I to say, 'Bro, you're right?' Because we all have the right to think whatever we want to think, and I respect that about everybody.
- Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers quarterback, Aug. 1, 2016

I'm not against the military. I'm not against the police or America. I'm against social injustice. - Brandon Marshall , Denver Broncos linebacker

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I come from a majority black community from Oakland, California ... so the struggle, I seen it. I still have some family in the struggle. All I'm saying is we want to educate those, the youth that's coming up. - Marcus Peters , Kansas City Chiefs cornerback

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I want to make it clear that there is no disrespect to the military or to police officers - I'm not about that. I love everyone. I would like to keep moving forward in the right direction with everybody: equal rights, equal opportunity. From my position, it doesn't seem that it's happening. That's why I took a stand. - Jelani Jenkins , Oakland Raiders linebacker

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If it's about the knee that people are upset about, every Sunday people of faith take a knee to give thanks to their Lord and savior, whatever faith or religion that they are. It's not about a knee, it's not about the [symbolism], it's about the message. They say it's not the time to do this, but when is the time? - Arian Foster , former Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans running back

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These guys are making a conversation of something that I think is a very important topic in this country, and I'm 100 percent supportive of them. This is a country, you're allowed to really indicate what your preferences are and how your feeling and that's what makes us so great, and I think it's great, and I applaud them for what they're doing. - Stephen Ross , Miami Dolphins owner

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There was a time when I didn't stand up for the National Anthem. But as I grew as a Christian man, I felt like that wasn't the right thing to do for me. There was something that I could do to make it better. So when I saw racial injustice that I perceived, I stood for the National Anthem but I bowed my head and I prayed that God would make us a country that really was the 'land of the free and the home of the brave.' - Tony Dungy , former Indianapolis Colts head coach

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So now, as I'm thinking about the national anthem, and I hear that line, 'for the land of the free,' he wasn't talking about me. He wasn't talking about Randy [Moss]. So when we talk about Colin Kaepernick and the stand that he's taking, he's saying, 'Look, let there be justice for all of us, including me and Randy, including all of you on this set today. So I actually applaud him for having the gall to stand up when he knew what kind of ridicule he was going to get, when most people would not do it, when he knew the backlash he was going to get. - Charles Woodson , former player

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No matter how passionate you are, no matter how much of a burden you have for a social issue, you don't let it get in the way of the team. And the big thing that hit me through all of this was this is a backup quarterback whose job is to be quiet and sit in the shadows and get the starter ready to play Week 1. Yet, he chose a time when he became the center of attention. And it has disrupted that organization. It has caused friction and torn the fabric of the team. - Trent Dilfer , former player

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I understand we're going through things as a country right now, but there's just ways to do it. Me personally, I think when you do things, you have to do it in a unit. That's my opinion on it and we're ready to play football. We'll be standing today for the national anthem today as a team. - Adam Jones , Cincinnati Bengals cornerback

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There's no question [Marcus Peters] respects whatever law enforcement, military, you don't ever question that with this guy. He just wants what is right, like we all do. I think that's the important thing. What the players are doing right now is important. Let's just all get along and that would be a beautiful thing. - Andy Reid , Kansas City Chiefs head coach

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Guys have different beliefs, but for the most part, we don't want to bring any individual spotlight on ourselves. Everyone believes in something, but at this point, as a team, we thought it would be better for us just to stand. - Patrick Peterson , Arizona Cardinals cornerback

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We strongly, strongly support the flag in every way we support - and it's almost ridiculous to be saying it - the people who for generations and generations have given it all up so that we can get out here and show off in front of millions of people on television. ... The forum of the NFL and the forum on television is a very significant thing. I'm for it being used in every way we can to support the great, great contributors in our society, and that's people that have supported America, the flag, and there's no reason not to go all out right there. And for anybody to use parts of that visibility to do otherwise is really disappointing.
- Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner, Sept. 13, 2016

I always choose to stand and reflect, at a moment like that, on the blessings that I've had. That's how I choose to express how I feel toward the people that have sacrificed for us. I think we live in a wonderful country. It's certainly not perfect. I don't think any country is perfect. It's our responsibility to do the best we can do to change the things we don't like. I think that's part of social responsibility, and everybody is going to do that in their own way. - Tom Brady , New England Patriots quarterback

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There's just a lot of things systematically that have been set up in this country since its inception that really ... put minorities, especially African Americans, at a disadvantage. ... So we want to continue to keep that conversation going, push it to as many people as we can, obviously while also doing our part in bringing forth change. - Malcolm Jenkins , Philadelphia Eagles safety

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It's something that players have the right to do. ... As long as they do it the right way and it doesn't become a distraction for the rest of the team. - Doug Pederson , Philadelphia Eagles head coach

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With what's going on, I'd rather see him take a knee, than stand up, put his hands up and get murdered, so, my take on it is, shit's gotta start somewhere, and if that was the starting point, I just hope people open up their eyes and see there's really a problem going on and something needs to be done for it to stop and if you're really not racist, then you won't see what he's doing as a threat to America, but just addressing a problem we have.
- Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders running back, Sept. 20, 2016

I support @Kaepernick7 for bringing awareness for injustice !!!! As Americans we all have rights! Im hoping we all come together#solution ... All lives matter. So much going on in this world today.Can we all just get along! Colin,I respect your stance but don't disrespect the Flag. - Jerry Rice , Pro Football Hall of Famer

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It's time to find solutions. People aren't crying wolf - this is our reality. People feel their lives are worth less than those who aren't of color. - Michael Thomas , Miami Dolphins safety

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The reason these guys are kneeling, the reason we're locking arms, is to bring people together to make people aware that this is not right. It's not right for people to get killed in the street. When a guy takes a knee, you can ignore it, you can say he's not being patriotic, he's not honoring the flag. I'm doing none of those things. I'm saying it straight up: this is wrong, and we need to do something. - Richard Sherman , Seattle Seahawks cornerback

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I felt the need to do it. I felt like I've been silent long enough. It's a bigger problem out there in the communities, in our society, things like the type of situations [where] people losing their lives, families like that. Little kids going home and not having their parents no more because of crazy things going on; so as far as the response, whatever the response is, that's what it is, but I felt that it was time for me to make a stance and speak up on it. - DeSean Jackson , Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver (formerly of the Washington Redskins)

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Going forward, I will be standing for the National Anthem-not because everything is perfect, or because I'm changing my stance on things. But because of my hope for what we can become. Just because I am standing doesn't mean the work will end. There's much work to be done.
- Brandon Marshall, Denver Broncos linebacker, Nov. 6, 2016

I do think the right thing is for all the players and coaches on the sideline to stand during the national anthem and pay the respect that our flag and the people who have given their life for it deserve. At the same time, I understand we have players who are concerned about racial relations in this country, which is a very important subject. I just don't believe that the national anthem is really the right place to voice your displeasure with that. - Clark Hunt , Kansas City Chiefs chairman

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The men and women who serve this country, I'm forever indebted to them. But the things that's been going on in America lately, I'm not going to stand for that. - Mike Evans , Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver

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If I had to do it over again, I would have done it differently, but I would still use my platform to help. - Mike Evans , Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver

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The NFL was known for its patriotism and for character. It's now the brand today, it's turned to where they put up with anti-Americanism and thuggery. - Burgess Owens , former player

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Nonviolent protesting is something that we have all embraced. I don't like the way he did it. Personally, I kind of liked it a lot when he went from sitting to kneeling [as his protest]. I don't know, I'm Catholic, we spend a lot of time kneeling. - Steve Bisciotti , Baltimore Ravens owner

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The football field is our sanctuary. If you do nothing else, young man, get back on the football field and let your play speak for itself. And what you do off the field, don't let too many people know, because they gonna judge you anyway, no matter what you do, no matter if it's good or bad. - Ray Lewis , former Baltimore Ravens player

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I think the best way I can say this is: I don't understand what it's like to be in that situation. What it is to be pulled over, or profiled, or any number of issues that have happened, that Colin was referencing - or any of my teammates have talked to me about. ... But I know it's a real thing my black teammates have to deal with. - Aaron Rodgers , Green Bay Packers quarterback

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I love hot dogs, like any other American. I love football like any other American. But I don't love segregation. I don't love riots. I don't love oppression. I don't love gender slander. And I just want to see people have equality that they deserve.
- Michael Bennett, Seattle Seahawks defensive end, Aug. 13, 2017

It's more of marketing, it's not really in their heart that they really want to do that. But once again, I think it's a selfish reason I really do. ... I think, go out and play football and do what you're supposed to do and not worry about the worldly things that's going on. - Jermichael Finley , former player

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I've got a lot of respect for what the national anthem represents for our country but everybody has their own reasons or certain beliefs. I think you want to be respectful and mindful of that but I think we want to allow guys to express themselves in whatever way they see fit. - Sean McVay , Los Angeles Rams head coach

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I think everybody has a right to [protest], and I get it, but the national anthem means a lot to myself personally, the organization and our football team. I hope - and again I can't speak, I haven't really talked to our team about it - I would hope that we don't have those issues. - Hue Jackson , Cleveland Browns head coach

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The national anthem is a special moment to me. It's a point of pride. That is a really important moment. But we also have to understand the other side, that people do have rights and we have to respect those. - Roger Goodell , NFL commissioner

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I support [brother Michael Bennett], I support his movement, I support Colin Kaepernick, I support all the guys ... all the people that came before us to pave the way for what we're trying to do in the black community. - Martellus Bennett , Green Bay Packers tight end

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The overwhelming and most profound message is that we claim to have equality and liberty for all people. And some people feel that's not the case. So maybe we should listen to them. Maybe we should listen to what their thoughts are and see if we can't be better. - Doug Baldwin , Seattle Seahawks wide receiver

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I was brought up to respect the flag, respect the veterans. They're giving up their life for this flag. I think the whole country needs a dose of, hey, let's be proud of our country. Let's stand behind our president. Let's do things. Do we have other issues? Absolutely we do. Now's not the time to do that. - Rob Ryan , former NFL assistant coach

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There's no question in my mind the National Anthem is sacred, the flag is sacred and our team has demonstrated that. - Jason Garrett , Dallas Cowboys head coach

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We want to have a collection of individuals that come together as a team to play football. We don't need everybody in the organization to think the same way I think, or have the same feelings that I have about different topics. - Jack del Rio , Oakland Raiders head coach

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I feel like it's my duty as an athlete with my platform to do anything I can to help people in need against police brutality in the black and brown communities. - Cameron Jefferson , Buffalo BIlls offensive lineman

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I feel like America is in a bad place right now, with all the racial tension. We have to be better than our ancestors were. It's 2017, and we're still struggling with issues we had in the 1930s. - Wesley Woodyard , Tennessee Titans linebacker

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It's going to affect your job, your endorsements and your money. Someone like me, going into my fourth year, I'm trying to get paid, too. A lot of teams will look down at that and say, 'He's a Colin Kaepernick.' ... We're going to keep standing up for what's right on our side. And if they can't see the injustice, then that's where the divide is going to be. - DaQuan Jones , Tennessee Titans defensive end

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Did protesting really change much last year? I don't really think so. We gotta find a better way. Protesting on a Sunday doesn't do itself justice because we did that last year and there was only more uproar, without much change.
- Jurrell Casey, Tennessee Titans defensive lineman, Aug. 17, 2017

I think this game brings people together. So I think personally when I see [anthem protests], I think that's divisive. And I understand guys see things and they're not happy. They have that right. And I think we'll always respect people's rights. That doesn't mean I believe that. I believe this game should be celebrated for what it is. I think [it's] a tremendous unifier for our country and for the way things should be. - John Lynch , San Francisco 49ers general manager

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This is a free country, in my opinion, and free people can do what they like. - Ted Thompson , Green Bay Packers general manager

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This is what I tell our players, you live in a society, all right. You can't avoid everything that's happening in the world. Be informed. If you make a decision be willing to stand by it. Speak for yourself, you don't speak for the entire football team. - Lovie Smith , former Chicago Bears head coach

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I know there are guys who want to take a knee or stand up as well, but a lot of people come to this league from nothing. Job security is everything. It's not a secret that guys who protest on teams might be gone. - Rishard Matthews , Tennessee Titans wide receiver

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Brandon [Marshall] made a point last year, but he carried it forward. He just didn't make a stand on the field before the games, he actually went out in the community and did something and talked to different people. He went and talked to law enforcement and got involved in the community. I was proud of Brandon in not only did he show his support for what it was last year, but also he went out and did something in the community. - John Elway , Denver Broncos general manager and former Broncos quarterback

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It's their individual right. We don't have a rulebook on what's right to protest and not protest. You don't know those things until the course of time. Whether it's sitting for the anthem, whether it's raising your fist, whether it's speaking out, whether it's a walk to Washington, who's to say whose protest is good or bad, you know? - Todd Bowles , New York Jets head coach

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I think the national anthem in my thought is for the fallen soldiers, so I just want to represent them the right way. I really can't speak on them, they have a certain cause and purpose on why they're doing that, but in this locker room, you won't see that happening. - Delanie Walker , Tennessee Titans tight end

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I have no reaction. You know, a lot of people have personal opinions, and it's just that - it's personal opinions. If I don't think mine adds any value to the discussion, I will keep it to myself and not add it to the fray. - Mike Tomlin , Pittsburgh Steelers head coach

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There are some people who say they don't want politics in sports. I don't remember a time when fighting white supremacy was a political issue, but evidently it is for a couple people in this country, and that's unfortunate. - Chris Long , Philadelphia Eagles defensive end

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Whether it's good or bad in some eyes, I feel like I'm just supporting my teammate, supporting why he's doing it and his reasons, and trying to encourage others. ... I'm not against what the flag means and veterans. My dad was in the Army. So I'm not putting any disrespect to them. I'm just trying to understand the issues, trying to educate myself more in that regard and showing support. - Justin Britt , Seattle Seahawks center

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I think the key word here is respect. We respect [tackle Cam Jefferson's] opinion. We respect and acknowledge what's going on. When a player or anyone in this case takes an initiative to make a stand for something, if it's ethical, I want them to know that I'm going to support them and we're going to support them. - Sean McDermott , Buffalo BIlls head coach

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There's a lot of racial and social injustices in the world that are going on right now. We just decided to take a knee and pray for the people who have been affected and just pray for the world in general. - Jabrill Peppers , Cleveland Browns safety

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We wanted to draw attention to the fact that there's things in this country that still need to change, and I myself will be raising children that don't look like me [wife is African American], and I want to do my part as well, to do everything I can to raise them in a better environment than we have right now.
- Seth DeValve, Cleveland Browns tight end, Aug. 21, 2017

We respect our players; we respect the flag. Those guys came to me and talked to me about it before they ever made a decision to do it. - Hue Jackson , Cleveland Browns head coach

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My personal view is, I'll be standing on the 50-yard line with my hand over my heart. That's what I believe in. We've got plenty of guys who believe in that but we're not all the same. We're not all the same. We don't all come from the same place. We don't all have the same background. We have to respect every man's opinion. - Dirk Koetter , Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach

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I respect the fact that they have the freedom to protest. Right now, I'm focused on football. It hasn't been a problem for our football team. Moving forward, if it comes up, we'll discuss it. But right now, it hasn't come up. - Vance Joseph , Denver Broncos head coach and former player

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I'm not criticizing nobody. They're free to do whatever they want. Hell no I'm not doing none of that. Their beliefs are their beliefs, and I'm not saying that it's wrong - because they're feeling a certain way. - Dez Bryant , Dallas Cowboys wide receiver

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These are thoughtful guys. ... They don't want something bad, they want something better for America. So I don't look at them in any sort of negative way. I appreciate the teams that try to do everything together, link arms, or do whatever the case may be. But this is difficult on everybody, because the minute you open your mouth about this thing [anthem protests], something you said can be taken the wrong way. All of a sudden you can be in the national news. And I firmly believe that people watch football games because they're ready for a break from all the politics. Now all the politics are inside the NFL game. - Cris Collinsworth , former player and current analyst

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I don't desecrate my flag and my national anthem. I'm not going to do anything against the flag and national anthem. I'm going to work within those situations. But this is my country, and I'll work out the problems, but I'll do it in an intelligent manner. - Jim Brown , former Cleveland Browns player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame

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I feel I needed to regain control of that narrative and not let people say that what we're doing is un-American, because it's not. It's completely American. We're doing it because we want equality for everybody. We want our country to be a better place. So that's why I decided to resume the protest.
- Eric Reid, San Francisco 49ers safety, Aug. 27, 2017

We talked about protests to do things and protests to do that and what we kind of did before the game of everybody coming together is the point we're trying to make is equality for everyone. Everyone being it together, pointing to the issues and saying, 'if we work together, we can fix those things.' - Jason McCourty , Cleveland Browns cornerback

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Let them be malcontents. Let them do their thing. They'll move on, nobody will think about it, nobody will remember who they were, the fact they didn't stand for the national anthem. - Mike Ditka , former Chicago Bears head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer

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Why aren't more players speaking up or protesting? Do you not believe there's a problem? Do you not believe you can create change? ... Are you worried about sponsors or your contract? Do you not care? ... How can we expect the league to care about something we're not showing we care about? - Kenny Stills , Miami Dolphins wide receiver

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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, out. He's fired. He's fired!'
- President Trump, at a campaign rally in Huntsville, Ala., Sept. 22, 2017

Does anyone tell trump to stick to politics, like they tell us to stick to sports? Smh. - Eric Ebron , Lions tight end

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I'm a full supporter of the Flag & This country! Trust Me! But this can't be real! - Rishard Matthews , Tennessee Titans wide receiver

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Cloth has more value than people. apparently. - Arian Foster , former player

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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 , Vikings running back

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Continue to use your voices and your platforms for racial equality and to stop injustices in our communities. This is bigger than us!!! - Michael Thomas , New Orleans Saints wide receiver.

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When will people learn that fear won't make someone sit down. It quite possibly will make more stand up for what they believe in. - Chris Conley , Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver

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The NFL and our players are at our best when we help create a sense of unity in our country and our culture. There is no better example than the amazing response from our clubs and players to the terrible natural disasters we've experienced over the last month. Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities. - Roger Goodell , NFL commissioner

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[The NFL Players Association] will never back down when it comes to protecting the constitutional rights of our players as citizens as well as their safety as men who compete in a game that exposes them to great risks. - DeMaurice Smith , NFLPA executive director

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The behavior of the President is unacceptable and needs to be addressed. If you do not Condemn this divisive Rhetoric you are Condoning it!! - Richard Sherman , Seattle Seahawks cornerback

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The constitution guarantees our right to individual opinions. The flag, the national anthem represent and celebrate that freedom. We do not live in a country run by a totalitarian government where peacefully sharing opinions WILL get one fired or thrown in jail. We need to celebrate and protect that freedom. If our president doesn't understand this most important truth, it's even more important that we do. - Connor Barwin , Los Angeles Rams linebacker

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Comments like we heard last night from the president are inappropriate, offensive and divisive. We are proud of our players, the vast majority of whom use their NFL platform to make a positive difference in our society.
- John Mara and Steve Tisch, New York Giants co-owners, Sept. 23, 2017

I'm ok with being fired for what I believe in. The idea of [President Trump] thinking that suggesting firing me from football confirms that he thinks that it's all I can do as a Black man. - Martellus Bennett , Green Bay Packers tight end

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Our country needs unifying leadership right now, not more divisiveness. We need to seek to understand each other and have civil discourse instead of condemnation and sound bites. I know our players who kneeled for the anthem and these are smart young men of character who want to make our world a better place for everyone. They wanted to start a conversation and are making a difference in our community, including working with law enforcement to bring people together. - Stephen Ross , Miami Dolphins owner

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The callous and offensive comments made by the president are contradictory to what this great country stands for. Our players have exercised their rights as United States citizens in order to spark conversation and action to address social injustice. We will continue to support them in their peaceful pursuit of positive change in our country and around the world. - Jed York , San Francisco 49ers owner

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I do believe this will be a unifying moment for the sports world. And with as much influence as athletes have on the younger generation, this can be an opportunity for us to change the narrative of society and point to the president as a poor example of what you can become if you remain close minded, ignorant and uneducated. - Doug Baldwin , Seattle Seahawks wide receiver

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It's amazing that the most divisive person in this entire country is the President of the United States...he says whatever he wants. Patriotism goes beyond a flag and an anthem - Torrey Smith , Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver

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The NFL has historically been a strong catalyst for positive change and I'm proud of the way our players, coaches and staff use that platform to give back to our community and strive to be good citizens making a positive impact on this and future generations. - Arthur Blank , Atlanta Falcons owner

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I wholeheartedly agree with the commissioner's statement. The NFL and its players, more than anything, have been a force for good. What our country needs right now is a message of unity, civility and mutual respect. - Dean Spanos , Los Angeles Chargers owner

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I am proud to stand with our players and support them in their work on and off the football field. I completely agree with Commissioner Goodell that we are better off as a nation when we are unified and pulling together. I have seen that kind of attitude first-hand in Tennessee and across our country in the many benevolent and public-spirited efforts of our NFL players, often without any public recognition. - Amy Adams Strunk , Tennessee Titans owner

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It's unfortunate that the President decided to use his immense platform to make divisive and offensive statements about our players and the NFL. We strongly believe that players are leaders in our communities and positive influences. They have achieved their positions through tremendous work and dedication and should be celebrated for their success and positive impact. We believe it is important to support any of our players who choose to peacefully express themselves with the hope of change for good. As Americans, we are fortunate to be able to speak openly and freely. - Mark Murphy , Green Bay Packers chairman

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The best of us lend our compassion and determination to the aid of others. Every day I see the genuine dedication and hard work of our players. And I support them as they take their courage, character and commitment into our communities to make them better or to call attention to injustice. Having spoken with our players, I can attest to the great respect they have for the national anthem and all it represents. We at the Philadelphia Eagles firmly believe that in this difficult time of division and conflict, it is more important than ever for football to be a great unifier. - Jeffrey Lurie , Philadelphia Eagles chairman

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Our players have shown a tremendous commitment to raising awareness for important societal issues by using their platform in a positive way. ... As an organization, we could not be more proud, appreciative and grateful for our players. We'll continue to support them and work together to advocate for values of respect, diversity and inclusion. - Joe Ellis , Denver Broncos president

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Our players have the freedom to express themselves in a respectful and thoughtful manner and we all agreed that our sole message is to provide and to promote an environment that is focused on love and equality. - Terry and Kim Pegula , Buffalo Bills owners

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We fully support our players' use of their freedom of speech and peaceful action to highlight the existing racial and other divides in our country. Our players completely respect the military and veterans of our country; however, they believe these issues need to come to the forefront. - Peter McLoughlin , Seattle Seahawks president

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I am troubled by the President's recent comments about our league and our players. Sports in America have the unique ability to bring people from all walks of life and from different points of view together to work toward or root for a common goal, and the Indianapolis Colts are proud to be a part of that tradition in our home city and state. - Jim Irsay , Indianapolis Colts owner

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There is no greater unifier in this country than sports and, unfortunately, nothing more divisive than politics. I think our political leaders could learn a lot from the lessons of teamwork and the importance of working together toward a common goal. Our players are intelligent, thoughtful and care deeply about our community and I support their right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful.
- Robert Kraft, New England Patriots owner, Sept. 24, 2017

We're not going to play politics. We're football players, we're football coaches. We're not participating in the anthem today. Not to be disrespectful to the anthem, but to remove ourselves from this circumstance. People shouldn't have to choose. If a guy wants to go about his normal business and participate in the anthem, he shouldn't have to be forced to choose sides. If a guy feels the need to do something, he shouldn't be separated from his teammate who chooses not to. So we're not participating today. - Mike Tomlin , Pittsburgh Steelers head coach

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When it comes to speech, they're entitled to speak, we're entitled to listen, we're entitled to disagree or agree, for that matter. But we're not entitled to shut anybody's speech down. Sometimes you don't like what you hear; well, that's true of life in lots of contexts. But you can't shut people down and you can't be disgraceful when you're doing it. - Paul Tagliabue , former NFL commissioner

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I'm not sure if our president understands those rights, that every American has the right to speak out and also to protest - Terry Bradshaw , analyst and current player

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What makes this the greatest country in the world are the liberties it was founded upon and the freedom to express oneself in a respectful and peaceful manner. Through important dialogue with our players and team, this divisive political situation has unified our franchise for the present and the future. - George H. McCaskey , Chicago Bears chairman

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It was a privilege to stand on the sidelines with the Jacksonville Jaguars today for the playing of the U.S. national anthem at Wembley Stadium. I met with our team captains prior to the game to express my support for them, all NFL players and the league following the divisive and contentious remarks made by President Trump, and was honored to be arm in arm with them, their teammates and our coaches during our anthem. Our team and the National Football League reflects our nation, with diversity coming in many forms - race, faith, our views and our goals. We have a lot of work to do, and we can do it, but the comments by the President make it harder. That's why it was important for us, and personally for me, to show the world that even if we may differ at times, we can and should be united in the effort to become better as people and a nation. - Shad Khan , Jacksonville Jaguars owner

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Our game has long provided a powerful platform for dialogue and positive change in many communities throughout our nation. Thanks primarily to our players, the NFL also has been a unifying force in our country and impactful change has and hopefully will continue to be the result of peaceful expression, done so in order to highlight social injustices of all kind. Negative and disrespectful comments suggesting otherwise are contrary to the founding principles of our country, and we do not support those countries or opinions. - Martha Firestone Ford , Detroit Lions owner

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It's America and you are free to speak your mind. I just feel it's disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their lives and it's maybe the wrong platform. But like I said to each their own it's AMERICA! The greatest country in the world and you reside here, then why do you stay. A lot worse places in the world to call home. Proud to be an American. - Derek Wolfe , Denver Broncos defensive end

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Our players, just like so many others across our league, have been honest and thoughtful with their attempt to bring awareness to the issues of inequality and social injustice. We were incredibly moved by the meaningful and powerful dialogue they initiated within our organization when they spoke of their intent to unify and not be disrespectful while using familiar and important terms like one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. ... We must not let misguided, uninformed and divisive comments from the President of anyone else deter us from our efforts to unify. Our stance in support of the liberties of peaceful, personal expression afforded to our players and all Americans will remain strong, and we will continue to encourage our players to respectfully use their earned platform to inspire positive change in our nation and throughout society. - Dee and Jimmy Haslam , Cleveland Browns owners

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I can no longer ask our team to not say something while they are in a Raider uniform. The only thing I can ask them to do is do it with class. Do it with pride. Not only do we have to tell people there is something wrong, we have to come up with answers. That's the challenge in front of us as Americans and human beings. - Mark Davis , Oakland Raiders owner

*

As we have stated previously, the Buccaneers recognize every individual's constitutional right to freedom of speech, which is crucial to the American way of life that we cherish. We are equally committed to the principles of inclusivity and respect for differing points of view that should be afforded to all Americans. - Joel Glazer , Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-chairman

Credits

Compiled by Bryan Flaherty. Design and development by Virginia Singarayar. Photo by Scott Cunningham / Getty Images

Originally published Sept. 20, 2017.

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From Kaepernick sitting to Trump's fiery comments: NFL's anthem protests have spurred discussion

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I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.

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I don't think this article is bias because it talks about both side. It talk about why the NFL players did it and what Trump and others are against it.

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"It's really caught on. It's really caught on," he reportedly explained to dinner guests. "I said what millions of Americans were thinking." He echoed that sentiment in his Tuesday press conference.

Setting aside what millions of Americans may or may not think, Trump's sense that he succeeded because the press is talking about his performance ignores the fact that media coverage is not the measure of a president's success. Achieving certain policy goals, unifying the nation with calls to grace and maintaining America's standing in the world -- three objectives which many of his predecessors strived for -- determine how history writes about presidencies.

Thus far, our 45th President has failed on all counts. He has succeeded, however, in showing that he is the man he has always been -- selfish and bombastic -- and incapable of growing into the responsibilities of the job he now has.

The deficiencies of character and intellect that limit the President have been evident throughout his life. This is a man who cried " reverse discrimination" when he was asked to obey fair housing laws in the 1970s. He then cast doubt on the tribal identities of American Indians in the 1990s. And he also spent several years in the pursuit of proof that Barack Obama wasn't a legitimate president, an effort that well-known Republicans Michael Steele and Colin Powell deemed racist.

In these and many others instances, Trump chose to appeal to the most bigoted parts of Americans' hearts -- and based on a calculation that enough people would support him to make the bigotry worthwhile.

In Alabama, the President, who was there to campaign for a Republican senate candidate, veered off his campaign speech. Speaking to a largely white crowd in a state with a tragic history of racism, he chastised a handful of football players who respectfully knelt during the National Anthem. Notably, most of those players are African-American. And while they are concerned about the number of unarmed black men killed in encounters with police, they are also seeking a broader discussion of the longstanding problems of racism and discrimination.

Trump ignored their motivations and the quiet nature of their protest, though, choosing to frame it as an unpatriotic attack. "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a b-- off the field right now?'" he said. "Out. He's fired. He's fired!"

Trump's use of the word "fired" echoed the catchphrase he deployed during every episode of his program, "The Apprentice." On the show, Trump's catchphrase was always delivered in a lowered tone of voice, and he used this device in Alabama, where his second "he's fired" came with an added growl for theatrical effect.

And while other television performers, like Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel on "Family Matters," consider these catchphrases a potential handicap in future employment, Trump has embraced it. (Urkel, if you don't remember, was famous for saying "Did I do that?" in a nasally, high pitched voice.) In fact, Trump loves his catchphrase so much that he looks for opportunities to use it and revels in its delivery.

If we set aside the fact that Trump is President and view him as the selfish man that he is, we can begin to make sense of his recent behavior. Throughout his career, Trump has played the same bombastic character -- it's what made him a billionaire and ultimately our President. But none of the theatrics that made him so powerful prepared him for the challenges of governing, which to date include a failed health care plan and an increasingly aggressive investigation into possible collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign.

Not surprisingly, Trump is miserable. But rather than acknowledge his mistakes, he is willing to blame everyone else, from Senator John McCain, who opposes repeal and replace, to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia investigation.

A more considerate man in Trump's position would reflect on his condition and change his ways. Other presidents -- Bill Clinton comes to mind -- stumbled badly at the start of their presidencies, but learned to do better. The trouble is that Trump has never been the type to learn something new. Thus, he seeks refuge in the company of people who love his divisive attitude and seemingly support him unconditionally. Like Trump, these people don't want to hear their assumptions and prejudices challenged.

They like it when Trump tweets about others who are "disrespecting our Flag & Country." The message is clear -- we own the nation and its symbols.

In time, perhaps when he seeks re-election, Trump may discover that playing to prejudice and dividing a nation that actually gave his opponent the popular vote is a losing proposition. But for now, we can expect more of the same, because this is not a man who has ever demonstrated generosity of spirit or a willingness to work on himself.

As the presidency is debased and devalued, those who don't think like Trump's "millions" are challenged to maintain hope. In "Groundhog Day" fashion, he delivers constant reminders that he is incapable of doing better. And while he may not be, we are.

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what nfl controversy means to trump: show time! (opinion) - cnn

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What NFL controversy means to Trump: Show time!

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"It's really caught on. It's really caught on," he reportedly explained to dinner guests. "I said what millions of Americans were thinking." He echoed that sentiment in his Tuesday press conference. Setting aside what millions of Americans may or may not think, Trump's sense that he succeeded because the press is talking about his performance ignores the fact that media coverage is not the measure of a president's success.

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What are players protesting when the kneel?

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What are players protesting when the kneel?

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This article shows both sides of the story

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http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2017/09/a_view_on_the_nfl_players_prot.htmlhttp://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2017/09/a_view_on_the_nfl_players_prot.html

You can tell they are biased for the NFL right in the title.. It explains about how a person fought for their right to protest and racial equality as a veteran

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What are players protesting when they kneel?

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What are players protesting when they kneel?

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This article is biased towards the NFL because it showcases all of Trump's wrong actions. The article talks about the NFL more. - Karan

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This article shows bias because it only explains the NFL's reasons and talks about how Donald Trump was wrong

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Someone, please find Donald Trump a copy of the Constitution - preferably a simplified version with pictures and charts. Once he absorbs what it says, perhaps he will stop trying to tear it apart.

Trump is angry at athletes for exercising their right to speech; but his anger did not begin there. Last February, at a campaign rally in Texas, Donald Trump spoke of " open(ing) up libel laws." He never explained exactly what he meant but clearly is fed up with the First Amendment, which prohibits denying freedom of speech and the press.
More: More: Montel Williams to Trump: We're not North Korea. NFL players can choose to take a knee. Trump lying about Comey firing isn't new
Athletes and journalists are not his only targets. Last November, Trump suggested imprisoning people or revoking their citizenship if they burned an American flag. Never mind that the Supreme Court has already come down on the other side of that issue. "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable ... The way to preserve the flag's special role is not to punish those who feel differently about these matters. It is to persuade them that they are wrong," wrote Justice William Brennan in his majority opinion in 1989. The following year, the Court rejected a federal "flag protection" act, declaring, " Punishing desecration of the flag dilutes the very freedom that makes this emblem so revered, and worth revering."

Trump couldn't care less about the right to dissent. He is particularly incensed with Colin Kaepernick, who has become more famous for kneeling in protest against racial injustice and police brutality during the national anthem than for his accomplishments as a quarterback. "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color... There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder," Kaepernick said, explaining his motivation last year. Trump finds Kaepernick's repugnant. "Maybe he should find a country that works better for him," Trump told an interviewer.

As other players have joined Karpernick's protest, Trump's anger has grown. "Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners ... say, ' Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired," roared Trump at a rally. On Twitter, Trump attacked Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors for his reluctance to visit the Trump White House. "Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!" tweeted Trump. Lebron James reacted with a tweet of his own: "Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up."

Trump's amen corner, of course, backed him up. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said players should "do free speech on their own time." White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders snidely suggested the athletes protest the police protecting them. What Trump and his salaried sycophants refuse to understand is that they don't get to dictate how or whether other people protest. The First Amendment does not say, "Only presidentially approved protests allowed."
More: POLICING THE USA: A look at race, justice, media Why we stand for the flag: Gen. Dempsey
Nonetheless, Trump seems on a mission to destroy constitutional protections, as journalist Bill Moyers put it, "almost a campaign to kill free speech," but not just free speech. Trump has famously argued for re-imprisoning the Central Park Five even though DNA tests and a confession by the real perpetrator exonerated them of a brutal sexual assault. And he pardoned former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio who was convicted of violating Latinos' rights. In Trump's eyes the sheriff was simply "doing his job."

Denying people constitutional protections is, of course, precisely the opposite of the government's job - even if those people are loathsome, provocative or outrageous. That is why the American Civil Liberties Union has long defended Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and other thoroughly objectionable people. For if government is allowed to silence such hateful Americans, it can easily silence others.

Even without Trump confusing people about their rights, a lot of Americans are ignorant about the Constitution. A new survey of college undergraduates by the Brookings Institute's John Villasenor found that 44% of respondents erroneously thought hate speech was not protected by the Constitution. Another 16% were unsure. A more knowledgeable and principled president might take on the task of helping Americans better understand their rights. Trump is not that president.
Ellis Cose, senior fellow and writer in residence at the American Civil Liberties Union and author of The End of Anger, The Rage of a Privileged Class and other books, is a member of USA Today's board of contributors. Follow him on Twitter: @EllisCose.
Instead, he is fighting with football players and team officials - at a time when over three million American citizens in Puerto Rico (a disproportionately high number of whom, unlike our president, served in the military) are suffering through third-world conditions following the worst hurricane in the island's history. Why isn't Trump leading rallies to support them and to encourage other Americans to do the same? Why, instead, is he stirring up racial division, intimidating athletes and trying to silence the press?

Before last weekend's game, both the Seahawks and Titans decided not to take the field for the national anthem. Both teams offered statements explaining their decision. "We unite to oppose those that would deny our most basic freedoms," said the Seahawks. "Our commitment to the military and our community is resolute and the absence of our team for the national anthem shouldn't be misconstrued as unpatriotic," explained the Titans.

The two sports teams - and many others who have joined them in protest understand the essence and obligations of American citizenship better than the nation's president. Too bad Trump is attacking them instead of learning from them.

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NFL protests: Donald Trump fumbles First Amendment football

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Denying people constitutional protections is precisely the opposite of the government's job - even if those people are provocative.

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This article is not biased on either side because CNN provides a perspective from both sides of the argument. The NFL is currently in the middle of a protest and president Trump is telling them not to. Trump obviously has different political views than the NFL so that is the balance in the article.
Isabella

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The comments suggesting that NFL owners -- who are overwhelmingly white -- are afraid of their players -- the most prominent protesters are black -- prompted accusations that Trump is continuing to stoke a controversy with strong racial undertones.

"I have so many friends that are owners and they're in a box," Trump told Fox News. "I mean, I've spoken to a couple of them, and they say, 'We are in a situation where we need to do something.' I think they're afraid of their players, if you want to know the truth, and I think it's disgraceful."

He continued: "They've got to be tough and they've got to be smart."

Trump was referencing recent protests by NFL players who have kneeled during the National Anthem. The President and his aides argue that the protests are unpatriotic and disrespectful to the flag and those who have fought to protect the US. But the players, some of whom have said they are protesting social injustice and police brutality, argue that they are exercising free speech.

Trump first stirred up his feud with the NFL nearly a week ago and has since expressed satisfaction with the response, telling conservative group leaders earlier this week that his remarks have "really caught on" and that he said "what millions of Americans were thinking."

But by wading into the debate about protests by mostly African-American players during pre-game National Anthem ceremonies, Trump is exacerbating questions about his own attitude toward race and his apparent determination to keep tugging at the societal and cultural fault lines in American politics.

The protests began after then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the National Anthem last year, telling NFL media he was "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."

Other players have since followed suit. Trump said last week thatNFL owners should fire any "son of a bitch" who protests during the anthem.

In response to Trump's comments Thursday, ESPN anchor Jemele Hill, who faced backlash after she labeled the President a "white supremacist" earlier this month, tweeted, "Oh my, we have reached peak racial demagoguery."

Seth Abramson, a professor at the University of New Hampshire, tweeted, "Trump says the white owners of the NFL are "afraid" of its black players. That's not 'racist dog-whistling.'It's a 'racist public rant.'"

And Mike Freeman, a football columnist for Bleacher Report, tweeted, "Trump saying NFL owners are afraid of players isn't dog whistle. It's a big ass bullhorn. You know what that bullhorn is blaring right?"

During the Fox News interview, Trump also suggested NFL ratings are down and less people are attending the games where players are kneeling during the National Anthem.

"Because you look at the ratings, the ratings are going way down ... the stadiums, there are a lot of empty seats, I couldn't even believe it," he said. "When it comes to the respect of our nation, when it comes to the respect of our anthem and our flag, we have no choice. We have to have people stand with respect."

Overall, according to the NFL, this year's Week 3 ratings were slightly higher than Week 3 in 2016. But it's unclear whether changes in the ratings are due to the protests, competition from other television programming or the level of interest in the matchups.

'Health care didn't go down'

Trump also reiterated his claim that Republicans had the necessary votes to pass a bill overhauling health care, but didn't because they didn't have enough time.

"Health care didn't go down. We have the votes. Reconciliation is a disaster," Trump said, referring to budgetary measures that only requires the Senate to have 51 votes, or a simple majority, to pass a bill. "It ends on Friday (and) we don't have enough time."

Trump has said that he believes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell needs to get rid of the filibuster, a rule that currently requires 60 votes to pass legislation in the chamber. McConnell has summarily rejected the idea. But it's unclear what votes Trump is referring to since Hill Republicans decided this week not to have a vote when it was clear the measure would not pass.

When asked if Trump still has confidence in McConnell, he responded, "I do."

"Look, I have dealt with Mitch for a long time. I think he has to get rid of the filibuster rule. It's a disaster for the Republican Party because it means you needs 60 votes on most pieces of legislation and you are not going to get it," Trump said. "In the meantime, I'm going to start negotiating with Democrats and we will see's what."

When asked if he can trust Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Trump responded, "it's not a question of trust."

"I have a nice relationship with them. It's not really trust. If we can do a great bipartisan health care bill, I'm OK with that. We have the the votes to get it done. You can't go do it when somebody is in the hospital," Trump said, referencing GOP Sen. Thad Cochran, who was recently treated for a urological issue -- even though he has said he is not in the hospital. "When you have 52 votes and you need 51, it's, you know, it's very hard to get because you always have somebody and some cases they will want to grandstand."

CNN's Brian Stelter contributed to this report.

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president trump on nfl owners: 'i think they're afraid of their players' - cnnpolitics

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Trump on NFL owners: 'I think they're afraid of their players'

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The comments suggesting that NFL owners -- who are overwhelmingly white -- are afraid of their players -- the most prominent protesters are black -- prompted accusations that Trump is continuing to stoke a controversy with strong racial undertones. "I have so many friends that are owners and they're in a box," Trump told Fox News.

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No bias in this article

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How the NFL responds to Donald Trump's spit-foaming is hardly a test case for whether the republic will stand. Nevertheless, the league is a maker of manners in this country, so it means something that Commissioner Roger Goodell and others are getting it right, striking the perfect calm but resistant tone in response to Trump's gutter-mouthing, a tone that says, "We're not your personal WrestleMania, and don't use us for your sham body slams." The NFL, faced with whether to play to the basest instincts of the audience, declined. It adhered to civility.

The league is apparently unifying around the notion that, whatever side you may be on in the siege-controversy over NFL players kneeling during the anthem to protest racial injustice, whether you see it as a matter of patriotism, activism or some tangled intersection of the two, it is important to talk about it without calling each other "sons of bitches."

[Trump turns sports into a political battleground with comments on NFL and Steph Curry]

Who knows what Trump's real gripe is with the NFL. Maybe he's still angry that owners denied him entry to their club years ago. Or maybe Colin Kaepernick's mute but unrepentant protest really arouses his spittle. Or maybe he's just creating an "Are you not entertained!" circus-maximus spectacle by bull-baiting a wealthy league that is easy to resent by cash-strapped, job-insecure fans.

Regardless, Trump misreads what Americans love about the NFL.

It's beloved not so much for its violence or crudity, but rather the skill that results in violence averted. It's a game, ultimately, of restraint. As opposed to this:

"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. Out! He's fired. He's fired!' " Trump roared at a rally in Alabama on Friday night. "You know, some owner is going to do that. He's going to say, 'That guy disrespects our flag; he's fired.' And that owner . . . they'll be the most popular person in this country."

[A timeline of what people have said about Kaepernick's protest]

Not content to drive one wedge, Trump also called for a fan boycott and suggested the league has gone soft, lamenting the fact that amid CTE concerns it has passed rules trying to protect players from head injuries. "Because you know today if you hit too hard - 15 yards!" Trump said. "It's hurting the game." As opposed to hurting, you know, the cattle.

Wisely, Goodell and other owners refused Trump's bid to separate players from fans by playing on their economic and racial differences. "Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game, and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities," Goodell said in a statement. It's at its best as a league when it has "unity," Goodell stressed.

Now, you can quarrel over whether Zygi Wilf's stadium tax breaks are a force for good, or what John Mara has ever really done for New Jersey. But Goodell is basically right: NFL players are a huge boon to their communities, and a unifying force.

You cannot think otherwise after watching what J.J. Watt did, raising more than $37 million for local relief in Houston after Hurricane Harvey. Or after observing scores of NFL players fundraise for everything from free mammograms for women to free books for kids.

The vast majority of the men on the field are not spoiled millionaires abusing their freedoms, as Trump charges. Rather, they have worked as hard as any farmers for their short-lived incomes and are dedicated to using their privilege to make things better for the people they play in front of. Brandon Marshall's Project Borderline foundation combats mental illness. Doug Baldwin is raising money for a family community center in Renton, Wash. And Kaepernick has given away $1 million to various organizations.

Whether you agree with their cause, Kaepernick and his followers see themselves as activists who are simply trying to take "a reasonable and peaceful approach to something that is important to our society and the health and wellness of our communities," according to Baldwin. Their intent is not to insult the flag but simply to call for equal treatment under it. That may offend you. But it is not un-American.

As the abolitionist senator Charles Sumner once said, "Our country, be she right or wrong: a sentiment dethroning God and enthroning the devil."

The NFL is in a difficult state: It has a health crisis, an uncertain future in a fragmenting entertainment market, a coming labor fight. And it's in the midst of a tough but needed conversation about race in a league in which the owners are almost universally white and the players are almost 70 percent black. Kaepernick remains unemployed and no one will admit exactly why, though suspicions abound.

[It's starting to look like Colin Kaepernick won't play in the NFL again]

Still, Trump is finding that the league is not easily fractured, even by this divisive issue. Just because owners have certain powers doesn't mean they want to exercise them. Could an NFL owner fire a player for taking a knee? Certainly. The First Amendment only protects a citizen's free speech from being interfered with by the government. It doesn't protect anyone from their employer, and every NFL player is subject to "conduct" clauses. But a player could also bring a grievance and a more than viable argument that firing anyone over the anthem protest is race discrimination or unfair retaliation.

What's interesting is that none of it has happened.

Instead, what has happened are things like Arthur Blank's statement, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons standing with the players: "Creating division or demonizing viewpoints that are different from our own accomplishes nothing positive and undermines our collective ability to achieve the ideals of our democracy. The NFL has historically been a strong catalyst for positive change and I'm proud of the way our players, coaches and staff use that platform."

And the statement from Giants owners Mara and Steve Tisch calling Trump's statements "offensive and divisive," and adding, "We are proud of our players, the vast majority of whom use their NFL platform to make a positive difference in our society."

All of this may be because of what happened in Cleveland a couple of weeks ago. When a dozen players there took knees to earn the ire of police, ownership stepped in, not to fire players but broker talks with local authorities that resulted in players locking arms with cops and firefighters.

Owner Dee Haslam told ESPN.com, "Until we start talking about race and equality and building up neighborhoods and working together, we're not going to be able to solve the problem."

Underneath the splintering violence of the NFL is an underpinning of discipline and intelligence. This juxtaposition is what's really at the heart of its appeal: It's not a game about pure unleashed power but rather about the constraint of power for a purpose. And in this case, the league showed that it understands the difference between power for a purpose, and power to just throw weight around.

Confronted with Trump's vulgarity, rather than take him head on, it chose simply to outclass him.

"I do believe that this will be a unifying moment in the sports world," Baldwin said. "And with as much influence as athletes have on the younger generation, this can be an opportunity for us to change the narrative of society and point to the president as a poor example of what you can become if you remain closed-minded, ignorant and uneducated."

Long Live the Republic.

For more by Sally Jenkins, visit washingtonpost.com/jenkins.

Read more:

Trump's long, stormy and unrequited romance with the NFL

Roger Goodell responds to Trump's call to 'fire' NFL players

LeBron James sticks up for Stephen Curry, calls President Trump a 'bum'

Curry has long been reluctant to speak out. Then along came Trump.

Kaepernick blacklist risks hurting the NFL's real priority: Its bottom line

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Perspective | What President Trump doesn't get about the NFL

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How the NFL responds to Donald Trump's spit-foaming is hardly a test case for whether the republic will stand.

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This is bias for the NFL because it says how Donald Trump was wrong and only highlights the good things in the NFL's protest.

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"Ratings for NFL football are way down except before game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

He added, "The booing at the NFL football game last night, when the entire Dallas team dropped to its knees, was loudest I have ever heard. Great anger... But while Dallas dropped to its knees as a team, they all stood up for our National Anthem. Big progress being made-we all love our country!"

The ratings picture is much more complicated than Trump's tweet claimed. There was a big spike in viewership for the pre-game shows on Sunday, but it's too soon to reach any conclusions about the effect of the controversy on viewership.

Early ratings from Sunday, which are incomplete and subject to change, showed that games on CBS were up compared to the same week last year, while games on Fox and NBC were down.

The day's biggest broadcast, NBC's "Sunday Night Football," declined about 10% from the equivalent game last year. But it's hard to say whether that was due to Trump, the anthem protests, competition from other shows or the fact that the Redskins' lopsided victory over the Raiders made for a relatively unexciting match-up.

More reliable viewership data for Sunday's games will come in on Tuesday.

Trump entered the controversy about the NFL at a Friday night rally when he went after the league and attacked players who have been kneeling or sitting during the national anthem to draw attention to social justice issues, including police brutality.

"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, out, he's fired. He's fired,'" Trump told a crowd in Alabama.

The comments drew widespread criticism from players and team owners.

On Saturday, he called for NFL fans to boycott games unless the league fired or suspended players who refuse to stand for the national anthem, and has tweeted more than a dozen times about the matter.

At a private dinner with conservative leaders Monday evening, Trump said his NFL comments have "really caught on," according to an attendee, who noted the President told them, "I said what millions of Americans were thinking."

White House chief of staff John Kelly, however, was not pleased with the resulting firestorm over the weekend, according to two administration officials. But in a brief interview Monday evening, Kelly told CNN he is "appalled" by what he sees as a lack of respect for the flag and national anthem.

"I believe every American, when the national anthem is played, should cover their hearts and think about all the men and women who have been maimed and killed," Kelly said. "Every American should stand up and think for three lousy minutes."

His son, Robert Michael Kelly, was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2010.

Kelly declined to talk about the President's decision to wade into the issue. White House officials say they believe this will blow over, but did not know how long the President would keep it alive.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders defended the President's comments from the briefing room podium Monday, saying they were not intended to be divisive.

"This isn't about the President being against anyone," Sanders said. "This is about the President and millions of Americans being for something" -- like "honoring our flag."

The President has a jam-packed Tuesday. He receives a briefing on hurricane recovery efforts from homeland security adviser Tom Bossert, meets with bipartisan House Ways and Means Committee members, and welcomes Spanish President Mariano Rajoy before traveling to New York for a Republican National Committee fundraiser.

CNN's Brian Stelter, Frank Pallotta, Kaitlan Collins, Jeff Zeleny and Jim Acosta contributed to this report

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claims ratings are 'way down' - cnnpolitics

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"Ratings for NFL football are way down except before game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!" Trump wrote on Twitter. He added, "The booing at the NFL football game last night, when the entire Dallas team dropped to its knees, was loudest I have ever heard.

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They show information on both sides.

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Never in the history of the NFL have its ratings been so scrutinized. There's an almost breathless feel to the way fans, team owners, advertisers and, of course, President Donald Trump now await the release of the figures.

That they were essentially mixed in the season's third week is irrelevant. The obsession with the numbers, amped up by Trump's condemnation of protests during the National Anthem, is a big headache for the National Football League and its hyper-protective commissioner, Roger Goodell.

For years, it was able to exert strong control over its own narrative. The league and its powerful media partners continuously burnished the brand as a mass-market symbol of American vitality, strength and exceptionalism.

The current commotion has, in totality, the opposite effect, reducing the NFL to the role of a sick patient looking for a proper diagnosis, a scofflaw institution deserving public shaming by the commander in chief. The reversal -- from heroic savior of Sundays to something in need of saving -- is proving difficult to shake off.

"The best thing for the NFL would be to divorce itself from politics and focus on making the game safer, more entertaining and appealing to everybody. But the environment they are in is so polarizing," says Allen Adamson, head of BrandSimple Consulting. An NFL spokesperson declined to comment.

The ratings decline, which started during the 2016 season, isn't an immediate problem for the league thanks to its long-term contracts with broadcasters.

Dissecting Statistics

The one with ESPN runs through 2021 and Fox, CBS and NBC are locked in through 2022. Any loss of audience between now and then is only a problem for the networks -- though it all could eventually catch up to the NFL, the country's most profitable sports league.
In the meantime, seemingly everywhere you look on social media, some armchair ratings sleuth is dissecting the statistics and offering up a hypothesis about what's gone awry with professional football. Obviously, it's the pathetic quarterback play. Or, clearly, concern about players' long-term health. Or the horrible refs, or the recent hurricanes, or the cannibalism of the live-game experience thanks to social-media highlights and the launch of the NFL RedZone. Or, somehow, millennials.

But the theory gaining the most attention right now is the silent protests during the anthem. It's an argument Trump has been pounding. During a campaign-style rally on Sept. 22, he declared the ratings were "down massively, massively," and pinned the blame, in part, on players protesting police brutality by taking the knee, as it's called.

"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,'" the president said. "Out! He's fired." He also suggested that rules designed to improve player safety were chasing away viewers. "They're ruining the game!"

Culture Wars

Those comments touched off a weekend of heightened drama, featuring widespread sideline protests by players, coaches and owners, nationwide Twitter feuds and numerous statements by owners defending free speech. By the time Monday morning rolled around, the news media awaited Nielsen's reports with a giddiness usually reserved for Apple product launches and federal job reports.

In the end, the ratings were a mixed bag. Over the weekend, CBS saw a boost versus 2016 and NBC and Fox experienced declines; ESPN's ratings for the Dallas Cowboys ' victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night rose 63 percent, helping lift league-wide viewership out of an early-season slump.

None of which did anything to staunch overheated reactions. "Fans are disgusted with the NFL, not only for politicizing the game they love but that league policies reveal a left-wing anti-American streak," Breitbart reported in a story under the headline, "NFL Backlash: Sunday Night Football Hit With Season-Low Ratings."

Trump renewed his barbs Thursday, telling the "Fox & Friends" show that "the NFL cannot disrespect our country." The president said he's spoken to NFL owners, who are trapped "in a box."

"I think they're afraid of their players if you want to know the truth," he said.

The league and its 32 teams made $1.25 billion from corporate partners and advertisers last year, according to ESP Properties. For decades, big companies paid vast amounts of money to bask in the associative glow of the NFL's perceived dynamism, passion and vigor. Now they're paying vast amounts of money to bask in the fiery hell-broth of the culture wars.

#PunchThemInTheWallet

Over the weekend, fans who agree with Trump shared lists of advertisers on social media networks while calling for boycotts along with hashtags like #PunchThemInTheWallet.

Richard Levick, a crisis communications expert, says the NFL deftly navigated the weekend's challenges but expects no shortage of hazards ahead. "They showed a high level of unity and independence, respecting those who participated in the protests and those who didn't," says Levick. "In this era of hyper politicization -- which is being driven by the White House into everything from the Boy Scouts to the NFL -- there is no safe middle of the road."

Over the years, Trump has tweeted about ratings hundreds of times, often in the context of bashing one of his perceived antagonists. including CNN, Morning Joe, the Emmys, Megyn Kelly, Barack Obama, Bill Maher and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The NFL could be forgiven for wishing the president would shift his critique elsewhere. Kelly does have a new show.

But for the time being, Trump is keeping his eye on the NFL. On Tuesday morning, he was back on Twitter. "Ratings for NFL football are way down," he wrote, "except before game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!"

He returned to theme on Wednesday as he left the White House to deliver a speech on tax reform, telling reporters the NFL is in trouble. "Their business is going to hell."

Week four starts tonight. The Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers. Ratings are due out Friday. Tweets to follow.
- With assistance by Eben Novy-Williams

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Donald Trump vs. Pro Football Is a Ratings Game the NFL Can't Win

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Never in the history of the NFL have its ratings been so scrutinized. There's an almost breathless feel to the way fans, team owners, advertisers and, of course, President Donald Trump now await the release of the figures. That they were essentially mixed in the season's third week is irrelevant.

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This is not bias because it gives evidence from both sides, along with taking poles of what the people think of this subject matter. It talks about what both sides think about this situation.

-Reese Modugn

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This article in not bias because it shows both sides to the NFL and Trump.

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President Trump, in an exclusive interview with "Fox & Friends," said that NFL owners are "afraid" to act against their players protesting the national anthem at games across the country.

"The NFL is in a box and they have to do something about it," Trump told Fox News' Pete Hegseth, in the interview aired Thursday morning.

"I think they're afraid of their players, if you want to know the truth," Trump said.

In the same interview, Trump also touted the newly released Republican tax reform framework, describing the plan as the "largest reduction in terms of dollars in any plan in the history of the country."

And he insisted he will hold firm on demanding a 20 percent corporate tax rate, down from 35 percent.

"It's going to be something really special," Trump said. "The 20 percent is non-negotiable."

Trump said he wanted to start with "15 percent," but noted that the "numbers really work at 20."

"Right now, we are the highest taxed nation in the world," Trump said. "When I finish the plan, we'll be among the lowest."

While the tax proposal will command the focus of the White House and Capitol Hill in the coming weeks and months, Trump is still pressuring the NFL on the sidelines.

The president reiterated that the NFL has a wide range of rules, suggesting the league should apply new rules to those who would protest the anthem by kneeling.

"They have rules for everything-you can't dance in the end zone, you can't wear pink socks relative to breast cancer-they have rules for everything," the president told Hegseth, a "Fox & Friends" weekend co-host and Fox News political analyst.

He added: "Why aren't they honoring this country by enforcing a rule that's been in existence for a long time?"

But he said, "I have so many friends that are owners, and they are in a box."

Trump's comments come after days of back-and-forth criticism with the NFL and its players for "disrespecting our country."

Trump suggested that stadiums are "losing" fans amid the controversy. "The stadiums are losing-there are a lot of empty seats, I couldn't even believe it," Trump said.

Trump kicked up a firestorm over the kneeling protests last week, after criticizing NFL players for not standing for the anthem.
TRUMP SELLS TAX PLAN: 'THERE'S NEVER BEEN TAX CUTS LIKE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT'
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say 'get that son of a b-off the field right now? Out! He's fired! He's fired!" Trump said Friday, drawing criticism from multiple NFL players, as well as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

In the days following, more than 100 NFL players from teams across the country kneeled or locked arms.

When asked whether the NFL feud was a "distraction," Trump said "no," touting his administration's accomplishments.
TRUMP CALLS ON NFL TO OUTLAW ANTHEM PROTESTS, BLASTS COWBOYS FOR KNEELING
"It's not a distraction at all because I'm doing a lot. We've passed over 50 pieces of legislation, we have a Supreme Court judge, a much stronger military, much stronger borders now, we're going to get the wall," Trump told Hegseth. "The NFL cannot disrespect our country, they cannot disrespect our flag, or our national anthem."

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Trump: NFL owners 'afraid' to take action against kneeling players

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President Trump, in an exclusive interview with "Fox & Friends," said that NFL owners are "afraid" to act against their players protesting the national anthem at games across the country. "The NFL is in a box and they have to do something about it," Trump told Fox News' Pete Hegseth, in the interview aired Thursday morning.

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In http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-nfl-fight-dates-back-failed-usfl-experiment-80s-jeff-pearlman-670843

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This article is on the NFL’s side because it mostly  talks about how trump is messing things up http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-nfl-fight-dates-back-failed-usfl-experiment-80s-jeff-pearlman-670843

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/09/28/nfl-donald-trump-claim-team-owners-afraid-players-not-factual-protests/712470001/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/09/28/nfl-donald-trump-claim-team-owners-afraid-players-not-factual-protests/712470001/

# data[].attributes.body
This article is biased for the NFL and against Trump because it describes how Trump was ranting about the NFl decisions. The articlesaid  that these rants were unnecessary and the NFL should be able to share their opinions.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/09/28/nfl-donald-trump-claim-team-owners-afraid-players-not-factual-protests/712470001/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/09/28/nfl-donald-trump-claim-team-owners-afraid-players-not-factual-protests/712470001/

# data[].attributes.body
This is in between

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Never in the history of the NFL have its ratings been so scrutinized. There's an almost breathless feel to the way fans, team owners, advertisers and, of course, President Donald Trump now await the release of the figures.

That they were essentially mixed in the season's third week is irrelevant. The obsession with the numbers, amped up by Trump's condemnation of protests during the National Anthem, is a big headache for the National Football League and its hyper-protective commissioner, Roger Goodell.

For years, it was able to exert strong control over its own narrative. The league and its powerful media partners continuously burnished the brand as a mass-market symbol of American vitality, strength and exceptionalism.

The current commotion has, in totality, the opposite effect, reducing the NFL to the role of a sick patient looking for a proper diagnosis, a scofflaw institution deserving public shaming by the commander in chief. The reversal -- from heroic savior of Sundays to something in need of saving -- is proving difficult to shake off.

"The best thing for the NFL would be to divorce itself from politics and focus on making the game safer, more entertaining and appealing to everybody. But the environment they are in is so polarizing," says Allen Adamson, head of BrandSimple Consulting. An NFL spokesperson declined to comment.

The ratings decline, which started during the 2016 season, isn't an immediate problem for the league thanks to its long-term contracts with broadcasters.

Dissecting Statistics

The one with ESPN runs through 2021 and Fox, CBS and NBC are locked in through 2022. Any loss of audience between now and then is only a problem for the networks -- though it all could eventually catch up to the NFL, the country's most profitable sports league.
In the meantime, seemingly everywhere you look on social media, some armchair ratings sleuth is dissecting the statistics and offering up a hypothesis about what's gone awry with professional football. Obviously, it's the pathetic quarterback play. Or, clearly, concern about players' long-term health. Or the horrible refs, or the recent hurricanes, or the cannibalism of the live-game experience thanks to social-media highlights and the launch of the NFL RedZone. Or, somehow, millennials.

But the theory gaining the most attention right now is the silent protests during the anthem. It's an argument Trump has been pounding. During a campaign-style rally on Sept. 22, he declared the ratings were "down massively, massively," and pinned the blame, in part, on players protesting police brutality by taking the knee, as it's called.

"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,'" the president said. "Out! He's fired." He also suggested that rules designed to improve player safety were chasing away viewers. "They're ruining the game!"

Culture Wars

Those comments touched off a weekend of heightened drama, featuring widespread sideline protests by players, coaches and owners, nationwide Twitter feuds and numerous statements by owners defending free speech. By the time Monday morning rolled around, the news media awaited Nielsen's reports with a giddiness usually reserved for Apple product launches and federal job reports.

In the end, the ratings were a mixed bag. Over the weekend, CBS saw a boost versus 2016 and NBC and Fox experienced declines; ESPN's ratings for the Dallas Cowboys ' victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night rose 63 percent, helping lift league-wide viewership out of an early-season slump.

None of which did anything to staunch overheated reactions. "Fans are disgusted with the NFL, not only for politicizing the game they love but that league policies reveal a left-wing anti-American streak," Breitbart reported in a story under the headline, "NFL Backlash: Sunday Night Football Hit With Season-Low Ratings."

Trump renewed his barbs Thursday, telling the "Fox & Friends" show that "the NFL cannot disrespect our country." The president said he's spoken to NFL owners, who are trapped "in a box."

"I think they're afraid of their players if you want to know the truth," he said.

The league and its 32 teams made $1.25 billion from corporate partners and advertisers last year, according to ESP Properties. For decades, big companies paid vast amounts of money to bask in the associative glow of the NFL's perceived dynamism, passion and vigor. Now they're paying vast amounts of money to bask in the fiery hell-broth of the culture wars.

#PunchThemInTheWallet

Over the weekend, fans who agree with Trump shared lists of advertisers on social media networks while calling for boycotts along with hashtags like #PunchThemInTheWallet.

Richard Levick, a crisis communications expert, says the NFL deftly navigated the weekend's challenges but expects no shortage of hazards ahead. "They showed a high level of unity and independence, respecting those who participated in the protests and those who didn't," says Levick. "In this era of hyper politicization -- which is being driven by the White House into everything from the Boy Scouts to the NFL -- there is no safe middle of the road."

Over the years, Trump has tweeted about ratings hundreds of times, often in the context of bashing one of his perceived antagonists. including CNN, Morning Joe, the Emmys, Megyn Kelly, Barack Obama, Bill Maher and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The NFL could be forgiven for wishing the president would shift his critique elsewhere. Kelly does have a new show.

But for the time being, Trump is keeping his eye on the NFL. On Tuesday morning, he was back on Twitter. "Ratings for NFL football are way down," he wrote, "except before game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!"

He returned to theme on Wednesday as he left the White House to deliver a speech on tax reform, telling reporters the NFL is in trouble. "Their business is going to hell."

Week four starts tonight. The Chicago Bears play the Green Bay Packers. Ratings are due out Friday. Tweets to follow.
- With assistance by Eben Novy-Williams

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Donald Trump vs. Pro Football Is a Ratings Game the NFL Can't Win

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Never in the history of the NFL have its ratings been so scrutinized. There's an almost breathless feel to the way fans, team owners, advertisers and, of course, President Donald Trump now await the release of the figures. That they were essentially mixed in the season's third week is irrelevant.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/09/28/nfl-donald-trump-claim-team-owners-afraid-players-not-factual-protests/712470001/

This shared information

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This article shows the comments of the football players and the coaches and what they think jub

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President Trump has made multiple comments on the NFL protests and a new poll finds most are not pleased with his responses.

A majority of respondents disapprove of Trump's reaction to player protests, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov survey. Fifty-four percent said they disapprove, with 42 percent of those polled saying they strongly disapprove.

The same poll reports that 48 percent of respondents feel it is inappropriate for NFL players to kneel during the national anthem. Thirty-six percent think it is appropriate for players to kneel.
RELATED: The complete list of professional protests after Trump's comments

Colin Kaepernick became the first player to kneel during the national anthem during the 2016 season as a protest against police brutality and racial injustice in America.

The president first chimed in on the matter Saturday, telling a crowd in Alabama that athletes choosing to protest should be kicked off their teams. The recent HuffPost/YouGov poll found that just 30 percent of Americans think players who kneel during the national anthem should be fired.

Trump has faced a barrage of backlash from professional athletes, coaches, owners and fans in the wake of his controversial comments.

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Poll: Majority disapproves of President Trump's response to NFL protests

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President Trump has made multiple comments on the NFL protests and a new survey finds most are not pleased with his responses.

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CLOSE

When Donald Trump veered off on one of his venomous tangents in a speech in Alabama Friday night, calling an African American athlete exercising his First Amendment rights a "son of a bitch," he almost certainly never would have envisioned the picture that would lead the national news 72 hours later:

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a staunch Trump supporter, taking a knee on the field with his players before the national anthem.

More: Donald Trump: 'Big progress being made' after Cowboys' pre-anthem protest

More: Colin Kaepernick inspires a movement with his absence

Congratulations, Mr. President. You've created hundreds of Colin Kaepernicks.

With your divisive rhetoric, you've united NFL owners and players. That has always been difficult to do on almost any subject. You made it look easy.

As they kneeled or stood and locked arms before and/or during the national anthem Sunday and Monday at games around the country and in London - or didn't appear for the anthem at all - they weren't necessarily thinking about Kaepernick and his fight against social injustice.

They were thinking about you.

They were protesting you. They were protesting what you said and how you said it.

They were repudiating you.

Trump can spin this any which way he wants as he whiles away the hours on Twitter, but this time he has met his match. He has picked on people who have a megaphone as large as he does. He has gone after athletes with massive Twitter followings, with microphones in their faces and with devoted fans from red states as well as blue. It's NFL players, it's NBA players, it's NBA coaches: talk about fire and fury. They're letting Trump have it.

Then there are the owners. They, too, have criticized Trump. They've locked arms with their players and Jones, of course, took a knee.

These are Trump's people. Quite a few voted for him and donated to his campaign and inaugural committee. Not long ago, he desperately wanted to be one of them, to own an NFL team. Now, even they are against him.

He's not taking this well. If we've learned anything about his Twitter habits, it's that he never knows when to stop. Half of his eight tweets before noon Tuesday were about the NFL.

He kicked things off with this:

"Ratings for NFL football are way down except before the game starts, when people tune in to see whether or not our country will be disrespected!"

Turns out, NFL ratings were up for the weekend and way up for Monday Night Football.

Next: "The booing at the NFL football game last night, when the entire Dallas team dropped to its knees, was loudest I have ever heard. Great anger."

Arizona fans booing the Dallas Cowboys? Who knew?

"But while Dallas dropped to its knees as a team, they all stood up for our National Anthem. Big progress being made-we all love our country!"

Sounds like our man is moving the goal posts now, trying to do anything to declare victory after a lost weekend.

And, finally: "The NFL has all sorts of rules and regulations. The only way out for them is to set a rule that you can't kneel during our National Anthem!"

Let's all hold our breath while the NFL Competition Committee writes up that one.

Clearly, Trump is obsessed with this. The worse it goes for him, the more he probably will tweet.

Who should Trump blame for all of this? The Kaepernick story had all but burned itself out until he himself brought it back to life, deciding to declare war on American sports and ruin his weekend.

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NFL is winning in fight against President Trump

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CLOSE When Donald Trump veered off on one of his venomous tangents in a speech in Alabama Friday night, calling an African American athlete exercising his First Amendment rights a "son of a bitch," he almost certainly never would have envisioned the picture that would lead the national news 72 hours later: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, a staunch Trump supporter, taking a knee on the field with his players before the national anthem.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-protests-donald-trump-a-team-by-team-look-at-week-3-national-anthem-protests/https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-protests-donald-trump-a-team-by-team-look-at-week-3-national-anthem-protests/

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https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/09/29/poll-majority-disapproves-president-trump-response-nfl-protests/23226157/https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/09/29/poll-majority-disapproves-president-trump-response-nfl-protests/23226157/

This article is bias for the NFL because they said that what Trump said to the NFL players was expletive and rude.

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The article I found was biased for Trump. The title of the article literally said "Donald Trump vs. Pro Football Is a Ratings Game the NFL Can’t Win." The video shows many pictures on people kneeling.
-Arjun

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http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/28/trump-vs-nfl-stark-illustration-our-fractured-country.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/28/trump-vs-nfl-stark-illustration-our-fractured-country.html

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https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/09/29/poll-majority-disapproves-president-trump-response-nfl-protests/23226157/https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/09/29/poll-majority-disapproves-president-trump-response-nfl-protests/23226157/

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http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/29/politics/national-anthem-nfl-cnn-poll/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2017/09/29/politics/national-anthem-nfl-cnn-poll/index.html
This article talks specifically on the percentages of w

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This article wasn't on anyone's side they talked about the pros and cons of the NFL and Trump. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/09/28/trump-vs-nfl-stark-illustration-our-fractured-country.html

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-28/donald-trump-vs-pro-football-is-a-ratings-game-the-nfl-can-t-win                               Alex Uemura

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-28/donald-trump-vs-pro-football-is-a-ratings-game-the-nfl-can-t-win                               Alex Uemura

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Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images; Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Last season, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt at games during the national anthem, in silent protest of police violence against black Americans. He has explained his reasons, repeatedly. It has been controversial, a topic of constant conversation in sports media and among fans of professional football. And it has existed largely outside of partisan politics, until now.

On Friday, during a political rally in Alabama in support of Sen. Luther Strange, President Trump slammed players like Kaepernick and encouraged NFL owners to fire them for their actions. "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. Out! He's fired. He's fired!' " the president said to a cheering crowd of supporters. "You know, some owner is going to do that. He's going to say, 'That guy that disrespects our flag, he's fired.' And that owner, they don't know it but they'll be the most popular person in this country."

It is impossible to know if this was an outburst-another utterance from Trump's almost unrestrained id-or something more calculated. What we can say, however, is that it's revealing. Revealing of the president's priorities, revealing of his essential political persona, and revealing of just who is included in his vision of America.

Trump continued this barrage on Twitter. "If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!" Later, Trump dismissed claims of racism in his particular focus on black athletes and public figures. "This has nothing to do with race," he said. "This has to do with respect for our country." Players responded, using their Twitter feeds to challenge and critique Trump. And on Sunday, more than 200 performed some form of Kaepernick's protest, rejecting the president's rhetoric even if they obscured the actual point of the kneel, which was to challenge police brutality.

These events have at least one obvious takeaway: They underscore the vital role of racist grievance in President Trump's message and rhetoric. His attacks on black athletes are of a piece with the "birtherism" that jump-started his political career. His belief that the protesting players are ungrateful-that they were given their success ("privilege") and have no place to complain-recalls his demand for Barack Obama's college transcripts and his view that the president was an unqualified product of affirmative action. As Jelani Cobb argued for the New Yorker, this language is euphemism for an old charge against prosperous blacks who dared speak against unfair treatment: uppity.

But embedded in Trump's rhetoric is an even older idea, one that goes beyond questions of social standing to the fundamentals of belonging and citizenship. Look again at the way Trump talked about the protests. He introduces the subject by defining an "us."

Luther and I and everyone in this arena tonight are unified by the same great American values. We're proud of our country. We respect our flag.

He then defines a them, the "somebody" who "disrespects our flag." He continues on these lines. "That's a total disrespect of our heritage, that's a total disrespect of everything that we stand for."

He says this before an almost entirely white audience, in a state known for its rigid racial polarization, about a group of black players whose strongest support is found within black communities. In that context, Trump's repeated use of "our"- our flag, our heritage, our country-takes on a racial tint. It ceases to be the inclusive "our" of most presidential rhetoric and begins to sound like an exclusive one, where the flag, and the nation's heritage, belongs to white Americans alone. He attempts to turn a protest against police violence into a protest against this version of America itself. If you consider it alongside his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia-when he defended monuments to Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson by analogizing them to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson-or next to his larger policy agenda of exclusion and harassment toward Hispanic immigrants and Muslim Americans, then "our flag" takes on an unmistakable tone.

This notion, that the United States is first and foremost a white country, and that only whites are entitled to full political equality, is as old as the nation itself. Arguably, as philosopher Charles Mills contends, it is embedded in the Enlightenment liberalism that informs the whole idea of America. At the very least, this idea has been expressed throughout American history. "This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President; it shall be a government for white men," declared Andrew Johnson in the wake of emancipation and the end of the Civil War.

Although modified from its 19 th-century form, this racist chauvinism is an explicit part of Trump's political persona. It's seen particularly in his objects of public derision, how he only holds up nonwhites to attack them. And we may be witnessing it in how he reacts to crisis.

At this moment, Puerto Rico is in the midst of catastrophe. The latest hurricane to plow through the Atlantic Ocean, Maria, has left the island and its 3.4 million residents in desperate straits. Clean water is increasingly scarce, the power grid is nearly completely devastated, and the storm destroyed most connections, even phone and internet, to the outside world. Absent major intervention, many people will die. And yet Trump is silent, more concerned with blasting the NFL than marshaling Congress to assist American citizens caught in one of the worst disasters since Katrina.

Perhaps this is just an oversight. But then look at who is suffering in Puerto Rico. Spanish speakers. Brown-skinned people. The kinds of Americans who have been on the receiving end of the president's most harsh, disdainful rhetoric. If Trump's disdain for Colin Kaepernick (and Barack Obama, for that matter) are informed by his racist vision of citizenship, then why should his neglect of Puerto Rico be any different?

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Trump's Obsession With the NFL Protests Shows Just Whose President He Is

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Last season, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick knelt at games during the national anthem, in silent protest of police violence against black Americans. He has explained his reasons, repeatedly. It has been controversial, a topic of constant conversation in sports media and among fans of professional football.

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http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-trump-on-his-role-in-kneeling-protest-1506289872-htmlstory.html

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/09/29/some-in-the-nfl-are-eager-to-move-on-but-politics-and-football-will-not-so-easily-be-separated-now/?utm_term=.23ce67d22626https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/09/29/some-in-the-nfl-are-eager-to-move-on-but-politics-and-football-will-not-so-easily-be-separated-now/?utm_term=.23ce67d22626

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Surprisingly CNN wasn't biased this time. They had both parts of the story, quotes of trump and players.
Addison Pokorny
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/us/nfl-media-day-take-knee-protests/index.html

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NFL players and coaches talk Trump, chance of more protests | CNN

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Three days after NFL players locked arms to protest President Trump's criticisms of those who kneel during the National Anthem, the topic remained on the minds of many around the league.

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http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/352419-michael-hayden-in-trump-versus-nfl-standing-up-for-free-speechhttp://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/352419-michael-hayden-in-trump-versus-nfl-standing-up-for-free-speech

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This article I found is biased to Donald trump because the article is just saying something about trumps perspective and not about the NFL players side.

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https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/nhl-reacts-to-protests-donald-trump-every-team-and-player-statement-to-date/https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/nhl-reacts-to-protests-donald-trump-every-team-and-player-statement-to-date/

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/sports/football/nfl-trump-anthem.html
This article isn't bias because there are pros and cons on both sides. There many positive things about the NFL and negative. Same with Trump.

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https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/23/trump-nfl-fire-players-who-protest-during-anthemhttps://www.si.com/nfl/2017/09/23/trump-nfl-fire-players-who-protest-during-anthem

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This article really showed the part about the race -alisha d

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/sports/nfl-trump-anthem-protests.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/24/sports/nfl-trump-anthem-protests.html
In this article it say that trump was not ok with players kneeling during the national anthem.
"The Seattle Seahawks and the Tennessee Titans stayed in their locker rooms during the anthem in Nashville. The Pittsburgh Steelers also skipped the anthem in Chicago."

"After the demonstrations began, Mr. Trump weighed in on Twitter, saying he approved of players locking arms, but declaring that kneeling during the anthem was “not acceptable.”

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I think that this article is bias for the NFL because the title is "Donald Trump Should Stop Telling NFL to Fire Players for Anthem Protests." This title distinctly shows that the author is obviously bias for the NFL

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Another day, another internet-breaking presidential tweet, this time about NFL players who protest racial injustice by refusing to stand at attention during the pre-game playing of the National Anthem. Former 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick started this movement a year when he first took a knee. Kaepernick explicitly said he was doing it as a protest to call attention to police abuse:

I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color... To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.

Now there's this from the leader of the land of the free and the home of the brave:

If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL,or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect....
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

...our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

Trump's tweets create an interesting situation especially for libertarians, who believe in maximum speech rights for everyone. On the one hand, you could argue that, hey, the Donald is simply weighing in as a citizen on a situation of interest to many Americans. Why shouldn't he feel free to do so, right? Then again, Trump is also goddamned president of the United States and has immense power both via law enforcement and the bully pulpit to screw not just with an individual's life but the status of entire industries.

As it happens, the NFL's commissioner, Roger Goodell, has articulated a league policy that allows for players to protest during the National Anthem.

"It's one of those things where I think we have to understand that there are people that have different viewpoints," Goodell said. "The national anthem is a special moment to me. It's a point of pride. But we also have to understand the other side, that people do have rights and we want to respect those."

So if Donald Trump wants to flap his gums about how employees of a (mostly) private-sector entity exercise their speech rights, maybe he ought to be calling out the NFL's owners for allowing such displays. But let's grant the president the right to criticize individual workers for exercising their own rights to free speech. Is his actual argument any good? No, not really. Public workplace (and schoolhouse) protests are as American as apple pie, aren't they now? The idea that someone who is a beneficiary of a given system should not be allowed to criticize aspects of it is the laziest sort of thinking imaginable. Kaepernick and those who are following his lead have indeed made more money than all but a tiny fraction of Americans. Does that mean they can't critique their country, especially from a highly visible platform? Of course not. This goddamned country was built on dissent put forth by beneficiaries of the British colonial system (the signers of the Declaration were, as a group, such rich and privileged bastards after all).

To be fair, Donald Trump doesn't do irony. Or history. Or introspection. What he does do is tweet and cause outrage, mostly to deflect attention from more serious issues. As Politico's Jack Shafer has written:

Have none of [the president's critics] been paying attention to Trump's Twitter strategy for the past 17 months? For anybody who has read a half-dozen of Trump's tweets, the pattern is obvious. He compiles these tweets precisely in order to elicit strident protest....To Trump's followers the content of any one of his rebukes matters less than whom it's directed at....

he's willing to engage in this sort of psy-ops as long as it sends the opposition chasing a red herring.

What then should we do when Trump taunts with such tweets? First, think before you tweet. Know that Trump wants you to tweet back at him the first thing that comes to your offended brain. Pause for just a minute, and if you must comment, try something like, "Sorry, Baby Donald, I'm not taking the bait."

That sounds about right, especially when you consider that Trump is at his tweetiest when he's trying distract from other things. Which makes you wonder: What is he trying to cover up by yakking about the NFL?

Bonus link: Did you know that the NFL only decreed in 2009 that all players had to be visible (though not necessarily standing) on the sidelines for the playing of the National Anthem? Before that, it was a team-by-team decision.

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Donald Trump Should Stop Telling NFL To Fire Players for Anthem Protests

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Another day, another internet-breaking presidential tweet, this time about NFL players who protest racial injustice by refusing to stand at attention during the pre-game playing of the National Anthem. Former 49ers' quarterback Colin Kaepernick started this movement a year when he first took a knee.

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This website is biased for Trump. This is because the title of the website literally says "Trump is right about the NFL Protests"

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articleThis is bias for the NFL because the is about opinions from the NFL fans

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I support every American's right to free speech and protest. My disappointment is in these millionaire players' choice to take the easy route by turning their backs on the flag. Why not take your money and invest in an inner-city revitalization project, community policing program or a multitude of other programs that would actually do something? Actually get involved rather than turning your back on the flag that men and women have fought and died for!

MURRAY SALES
GROSSE POINTE, MICH.
To the Editor:
My wife and I aren't football fans, but we are immensely proud of the players, coaches and owners for taking this principled stand (or knee). It is nothing short of tragic that professional athletes need to give a civics lesson to the president of the United States. Clearly, they have a far greater grasp of our Constitution and a far deeper understanding of what this country is supposed to be than the person in the Oval Office. Hats off to all of you!

MACKENZIE ALLEN
SANTA FE, N.M.
To the Editor:
Without wishing to defend our president, it must be said that the First Amendment does not protect speech in the private workplace; it only prohibits the government from regulating speech. This is settled law. Every day across America, employees less famous than star athletes are fired for saying things their bosses don't like - even for displaying political bumper stickers on their cars. It's perfectly legal.

While I hope team owners continue to allow employees to express their opinions on the job, they have no constitutional requirement to do so.

MAX ALEXANDER
SOUTH THOMASTON, ME.
To the Editor:
Many of the arguments against football players' expressing their political views during the national anthem hinge on the notion that "politics doesn't belong in the workplace." Please! Professional football stadiums on a fall Sunday afternoon are the closest we come in American society to the public square.

This is a place where people all across the political spectrum come together and spend time in one another's company for a few hours. If expressions of political belief are out of place here, why do we even play the national anthem in this setting?

DAVID E. COHEN, PRINCETON, N.J.
To the Editor:
People go to sporting events to see teams or individuals perform, not to watch a political or religious demonstration.

HERB STARK, MOORESVILLE, N.C.
To the Editor:
On Sunday the country saw the National Football League react to President Trump's statement about kneeling during the national anthem. While I congratulate the players, former players and owners, I wonder where they all were last year when Colin Kaepernick took a knee. Few other players were willing to take a knee then.

Mr. Kaepernick was punished by the owners and to this day still does not have a job in the N.F.L. Which N.F.L. team owners will have the guts to denounce their own hypocrisy and offer Mr. Kaepernick a job as quarterback?

CATHIE PERSELAY SEIDMAN
MILLBURN, N.J.

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Opinion | Trump vs. N.F.L. Players Who Kneel

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I support every American's right to free speech and protest. My disappointment is in these millionaire players' choice to take the easy route by turning their backs on the flag. Why not take your money and invest in an inner-city revitalization project, community policing program or a multitude of other programs that would actually do something?

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It was on the point of

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http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/politics/cnn-nfl-kneeling-protests-town-hall-ac360/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/politics/cnn-nfl-kneeling-protests-town-hall-ac360/index.html

This article is neutral because it had tweets from Donald Trump saying that it was rude that people weren't standing. It also shows people thoughts saying it is okay to kneel during the National Anthem.

-Lauren Holman