The National Football League kicked off its preseason in earnest last night, marking the imminent return of the nation’s most popular professional sport. This morning, President Donald Trump took the opportunity to revive his campaign against black players who protest racial injustice.
The NFL players are at it again - taking a knee when they should be standing proudly for the National Anthem. Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their “outrage” at something that most of them are unable to define. They make a fortune doing what they love......
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2018
.....Be happy, be cool! A football game, that fans are paying soooo much money to watch and enjoy, is no place to protest. Most of that money goes to the players anyway. Find another way to protest. Stand proudly for your National Anthem or be Suspended Without Pay!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2018
The president’s efforts have had some success over the past two years. Team owners voted this summer to bar players from kneeling during the national anthem, thus exposing protesting players and their teams to fines and other league sanctions. At last night’s games, two players on the Miami Dolphins knelt during the anthem anyways, and a smattering of other players across the league silently raised their fists.
The president’s attempt to intimidate players who demonstrate against racism and police brutality was already an abuse of his bully pulpit. But it’s even more repellent after Trump’s supine performance beside Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Helsinki summit earlier this summer. If kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice is considered unacceptable, where does kowtowing to a foreign dictator who attacked the American democratic system fall?