Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan said President Trump has focused in on the NFL in part because he is "trying to soil a league or a brand that he's jealous of," according to Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY. Trump made a bid to buy the Bills in '14 before the franchise was sold to Terry and Kim Pegula, and Khan said, "This is a very personal issue with him. ... He’s been elected President, where maybe a great goal he had in life to own an NFL team is not very likely. So to make it tougher, or to hurt the league, it’s very calculated." Bell notes Khan was one of seven NFL owners who "donated significantly" to Trump, providing $1M to his inauguration fund (USA TODAY, 10/19). ESPN's Adam Schefter notes he has had "other owners say the same thing to me." White House officials do not believe that sentiment "to be true." However, Schefter said, "There are other owners who believe that part of the reason Trump has gone after the NFL as aggressively as he has is because he believes Roger Goodell had a hand in preventing him from buying the Buffalo Bills back when they were for sale and because he has not been included in that ownership fraternity. He's waging his own vendetta against the NFL.” ESPN's Mike Golic notes Trump will "hold a grudge on somebody and let you know if he doesn't like someone or something." Golic: "If you want to go back and include the USFL, his couple of dealings with the NFL haven't been good" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 10/19).
NOT TAKING THE BAIT: Giants President & CEO John Mara said the owners are "all aware" Trump will likely continue to comment on the NFL's decision, but he added, "We can’t allow ourselves to get baited by that." Mara: "We’re going to do what we think is right." Asked if it is tenable that one NFL team could have rules about standing that differ from the rules of the other 31 teams, Mara said: “I don’t know if it’s tenable or not. That’s not going to be the policy of my team. Listen, we all want everybody to stand" (L.A. TIMES, 10/19). CBS' Jason La Canfora noted teams are "laying out when Donald Trump tweets or when Mike Pence goes to a game and leaves." La Canfora: "There was a lot of discussion in that room about just kind of taking the high road and letting some of this stuff pass and reminding people that we are talking between 6 and 12 players who were actually doing something other than standing. I think that’s the takeaway from it” (“Time to Schein,” CBSSN, 10/19). Meanwhile, former NBA Commissioner David Stern called Trump’s comments about the NFL protests a “distraction” from real issues. Stern said, “Everyone takes the bait of the president throwing this junk out to distract them from what’s really happening in this country” (“Power Lunch,” CNBC, 10/18).
