Donald Trump Responds To Roger Goodell Over Kneeling Controversy
Donald Trump responded to Roger Goodell over the kneeling controversy this week, calling on the NFL commissioner to take a tougher stance.
Trump spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity on the matter, and suggested that taking a knee during the National Anthem is an act that disrespects the flag and should not be tolerated.
“When the national anthem plays and our flag, the great American flag, is raised, you should not be kneeling,” he said.
“You should be standing, ideally with your hand on your heart or saluting. But they should not be kneeling. They can protest enough, and I saw the NFL get very weak. I saw — Drew Brees is a warrior, a great, great quarterback.
“A fan of his, I’m a fan of his. I saw him make this beautiful statement and the next day he retracted the statement. He talked about his father and his grandfather fighting in the war for our country, our flag and then the next day he retracted it. I just don’t get that.
“But you have to stand when the flag goes up. And I think they’ll lose a lot of fans and a lot of support in the NFL. That already happened before. I thought they learned their lesson. But I think it’s gonna happen again.
Trump’s comment came in response to Goodell saying earlier in the week that the NFL would no longer take a stance against players kneeling during the National Anthem.
We, the NFL, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of Black People. We, the NFL, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest. We, the NFL, believe Black Lives Matter. #InspireChange pic.twitter.com/ENWQP8A0sv
— NFL (@NFL) June 5, 2020
“We the National Football League, condemn racism and the systematic oppression of black people,” Goodell said.
“We, the National Football League, admit we were wrong for not listening to NFL players earlier and encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”
Trump did not take kindly to that comment.
“I was surprised at Roger, Roger Goodell, that he would have done what he did and made the statement that he made,” the President said. “Nobody was even asking for it.”
Now that Goodell has essentially given players permission to kneel next season, it will be interesting to see how many choose to do so.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
