HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 01: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks with the media during a press conference for Super Bowl 51 at the George R. Brown Convention Center on February 1, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
After numerous notable NFL players posted a video calling for the NFL to support their players in peaceful protests, the league responded with a video featuring commissioner Roger Goodell saying that the league condemns racism and supports its players.
This video had its critics, none more notable than President Donald Trump. On Sunday, Trump tweeted, “Could it be even remotely possible that in Roger Goodell’s rather interesting statement of peace and reconciliation, he was intimating that it would now be O.K. for the players to KNEEL, or not to stand, for the National Anthem, thereby disrespecting our Country & our Flag?”
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Back in 2017, Trump was very vocal about Colin Kaepernick, among other players, kneeling during the national anthem, calling for the NFL to do something, saying all players who knelt during the anthem should be fired. “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.’”
It appears that the NFL will back its players if they protest on the field during the season, which seems will happen this year, especially since Redskins’ running back Adrian Peterson said over the weekend that without a doubt he will protest.
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