President Trump this morning said some NFL team owners will not punish players who demonstrate during the national anthem in part because they are "afraid of their players." Appearing on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" in a taped interview, Trump noted he has “so many friends that are owners, and they’re in a box." Trump: "I’ve spoken to a couple of them. They say we are in a situation where we have to do something. I think they’re afraid of their players, if you want to know the truth, and I think it’s disgraceful.” The league has “got to be tough and they’ve got to be smart because … the ratings have gone way down” and there are a “lot of empty seats” in stadiums (“Fox & Friends,” Fox News, 9/28). USA TODAY's David Jackson reports Trump's claims "sparked backlash on social media, where users pointed out that most of those players are African-American" (USATODAY.com, 9/28). ESPN's Jemele Hill: "Oh my, we have reached peak racial demagoguery." Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman: "Trump saying NFL owners are afraid of players isn't dog whistle. It's a big ass bullhorn. You know what that bullhorn is blaring right?" (TWITTER.com, 9/28).
BUSINESS INSIDER: Trump yesterday said the NFL's business is "going to go to hell" if it does not change its policy about players kneeling (CNN, 9/27). ESPN's Mike Greenberg said, “You've got really angry people on either side of this. There are people who are boycotting the National Football League right now because Colin Kaepernick is not in it. If you were to institute a rule now, with everything that has happened, that makes the players stand for the national anthem based upon obviously the circumstances that have taken place, you're going to anger a lot of people. I think you may lose a lot of people on that side. That's the proverbial rock and hard place” ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 9/28). But FS1's Colin Cowherd said, "Trump says a lot of things, and a lot of them aren't true. He's a firestarter." Cowherd: "The content is still above average. Boycotts work when the content is lousy, and the content is still really good” ("Speak For Yourself," FS1, 9/27).
CONSISTENT WITH TRUMP'S M.O.: TIME's Altman & Gregory in a cover story note it has been "remarkable" that Trump has devoted "so much energy to attacking athletes for peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights" in the past week. However, the "spat over sports wasn’t just a diversion but a move straight from Trump’s political playbook." When confronted with crises, Trump "creates new ones, picking fights that stir his supporters and outrage his opponents." In this instance, he "spotted a wedge issue that pits his rural, conservative white base against both wealthy black athletes and liberal elites who scold the NFL for everything from racist team logos to soft-pedaling the risks of head trauma." White House advisers were "pleased that the President had found a way to turn Colin Kaepernick ... into the new 'Crooked Hillary.'" Altman & Gregory: "The point was not that he was attacking the actions of black football players; the point was that he was telling his supporters, once again, I’m one of you, I’m on your side, and I’m willing to endure the ridicule of the elites in order to say out loud what you are thinking. The descants about political correctness, racial grievance and class resentment toward millionaire athletes all reminded his base why he was one of them." The shows of unity that dominated last week's games "obscured the deepening divisions that Trump was exploiting." Altman & Gregory: "His fight with sports is part of a larger culture war that brings race, religion, rights, privilege and patriotism on the battlefield. The assertion of power by black men sparked predictable counterdemonstrations from some of the NFL’s white supporters" (TIME, 10/9 issue).
TIME FOR A GET-TOGETHER: FedEx Chair & CEO Fred Smith, who is a Redskins investor and whose company sponsors the NFL and the Redskins' venue, suggested it would be a "good thing for the president to give an invitation for four or five of these players to come to the White House." Smith: "President Obama had the beer summit. Why can’t President Trump have the gridiron summit and see what they're trying to accomplish and get football back to the enjoyable pastime that it is on the weekends without bringing politics into it” ("Power Lunch," CNBC, 9/27).
