At a rally in Huntsville, Alabama, on Friday night President Donald Trump criticized football players who have refused to stand during the national anthem, and encouraged National Football League team owners to fire the "son of a bitch" athletes who participate in the silent protest.
The president was in Alabama to endorse Sen. Luther Strange as the state's special election approaches next week. Trump ranted about a wide range of issues as usual, but singled out NFL players who have chosen to silently protest police brutality against black Americans by not standing for the national anthem, and called for them to fired.
The protests have sparked nationwide controversy and debate since former 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, began kneeling during the anthem last year. Kaepernick has yet to have been offered a job since he opted out of his contract last June, and many have argued that the NFL has shunned him. Trump did not drop Kaepernick's name, but his words were directly attributed to the movement the former player created.
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects or flag, to say, "get that son-of-a-bitch off the field right now," Trump said as the crowd erupted. "Out, he's fired."
The president added with even more enthusiasm, "he's fired!" as the crowd continued to applaud him. Trump stepped back from the podium, paced in a circle around the stage, and flailed his arms around to energize the crowd that cheered for the firing of players who quietly and peacefully protest injustice.
The very moment Trump calls Black NFL players "son of a bitch" and yells that they should be fired.
Absolutely disgusting. pic.twitter.com/i8nXlZVcLp
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) September 23, 2017
The protests have been entirely carried out by black athletes, and it's the second time in recent weeks that Trump, or White House officials, have called for the firing of black Americans that have expressed dissenting opinions.
Trump then bragged that he was friends with some of the NFL's owners, which is true, considering seven of them each donated $1 million to his campaign. "They'll be the most popular person, for a week. They'll be the most popular person in this country," he said of the owners if they fired players.
He then bashed the NFL's ratings, and said they have been down "massively" because of the protests. Trump added that the sport had become to bogged down from penalties, some of which have been imposed to prevent serious head injury.
On Saturday morning DeMaurice Smith, the Executive Director of the NFL Players Association, said in a tweet that, "we will never back down. We no longer can afford to stick to sports."
We will never back down. We no longer can afford to stick to sports. pic.twitter.com/Ec3Bc4qt9h — DeMaurice Smith (@DeSmithNFLPA) September 23, 2017
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell responded on Saturday as well, and said Trump's words showed an "unfortunate lack of respect" for the league and its players.
"Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect," Roger Goodell says of Trump's comments: https://t.co/Meit4iUITS pic.twitter.com/OzdSMtNK1i
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 23, 2017
"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," Goodell's statement said.
He added, "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."
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