9/24/2017
At a rally in Alabama on Friday, President Trump showed his frustration towards athletes who kneel during the national anthem. “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!’” His comments were cheered at the rally, and the crowd followed by chanting USA! USA! USA! However, soon after the rally his comments were soon criticized by prominent players in the sports world including among others Steph Curry, Lebron James, Tom Brady and NFL owner Robert Kraft.
Trump’s comments were also criticized for being divisive, again taking a hard position on an issue and calling the opposition names, this time calling any NFL player who knelt a “son of a bitch”. Some NFL fans believe that a NFL game is not the forum to express political views, while others believe the players have the right to exercise their First Amendment rights when they can get the most exposure.
NASCAR, on the other hand, seemed to support the President’s position when several team owners threatened to fire any employee who didn’t respect the flag during the anthem. The NFL consists predominately of black athletes, while NASCAR has only had four black drivers in the past 56 years who have competed at the top level.
Is Trump going to divide the NFL audience, and will ratings take a huge hit because of the issue? Only time will tell, but Trump again has caused chaos and controversy.
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