President Trump said in a tweet Tuesday that he expects to watch sports, but suggested that he would stop watching a game if he sees a player kneel during the national anthem.
“I am eager to experience sports, but every time I see a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our country and our flag, the game ends for me!” he tweeted.
Her tweet came a day after the manager of the San Francisco Giants. Gabe Kapler joined several players on his knees before his victory against the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.
Kapler said he told the team he wanted to use his platform “to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we handle racism in our country,” adding that he also wanted players to feel safe speaking, according to The Associated Press.
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Kneeling during the national anthem as a way to demonstrate against police brutality and racial injustice began with San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick in 2016. Many professional athletes around the sports world They have been involved in peaceful protests, which have been frequently criticized by Mr. Trump.
The president recently criticized the New Orleans Saints quarterback. Drew Brees who apologized for saying he “will never agree” with players kneeling during the national anthem as a form of protest against police brutality. Brees withdrew that belief and received a backlash from Mr. Trump, who tweeted that Brees “should not have resumed his original stance of honoring our magnificent American flag.”
Brees stood firm, telling Mr. Trump in an Instagram post that “we need to listen and learn” about racial injustice.
The future of live sports was questioned this year when the coronavirus pandemic closed businesses and postponed events across the country, especially those with large crowds, such as sports events. Many leagues have been working to discover how they can play amid the ongoing pandemic.
The NFL regular season officially begins in September. NFL veteran Adrian Peterson said that when the season begins, he and other players plan to get down on their knees together during the national anthem.
The Washington running back told the Houston Chronicle in June that players across the league plan to kneel when “The Star-Spangled Banner” starts playing.
“Just four years ago, you are seeing (Colin) Kaepernick kneeling, and now we are all preparing to kneel together this season, no doubt,” Peterson said.
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