Trump's stance on players protests is believed to have pressured NFL owners to change the anthem policyGETTY IMAGES
The NFL and team owners are being "forced to realize that they've lost all control" of their public battle with President Trump and that they are "in the crosshairs of a man that will never be satisfied," according to Carron Phillips of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Phillips wrote under the header, "Donald Trump Owns The NFL And There's Nothing The League Can Do About It." Trump canceled the Eagles' Super Bowl LII celebration less than 24 hours before it was supposed to take place, connecting that to the league's new national anthem policy in a series of tweets Monday night and yesterday morning (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 6/5). In Houston, Jerome Solomon writes under the header, "White House Beats The NFL Again." Trump "isn't about to bury this political football." Solomon: "You can rest assured this isn't the last time NFL teams will face the president in a trial of public opinion that they can't win" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/6). In Chicago, Steve Rosenbloom writes under the header, "NFL Owners Got Played For Suckers By Donald Trump, And They Did It To Themselves" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/6). ESPN's Bob Ley said Trump is "managing this dispute far better than the NFL owners" ("OTL," ESPN, 6/5). ESPN's LZ Granderson: "He's very savvy to try to get in front and control the narrative" ("SportsNation," ESPN, 6/5).
THEY THOUGHT WRONG: THE UNDEFEATED's Jason Reid wrote Trump "pressured owners to change the anthem policy ... and all indications are he'll continue to use them as piñatas because, well, they handed him the stick." The NFL regular season is three months away, but Trump "already is in midseason form, attacking players and alarming owners." Reid: "For him, it couldn't be working out better" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 6/5). Reid added, "He's moved the ball to where being in the locker room is unacceptable." NFL owners are "not going to be out there saying anything" in part because they are "boxed in." Reid: "This is what happens when you capitulate" ("OTL," ESPN, 6/5). ESPN's Bomani Jones said, "This is the sort of controversy the NFL hoped to avoid when enacting its national anthem policy. There hasn't even been a game since it was imposed and it has already backfired" ("High Noon," ESPN, 6/5). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Jason Gay writes if NFL ownership thought Trump would "lay off them once they made their anthem rule, they were foolish." For the White House, this is "great fun." Gay: "Why give it up now?" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/6).
BOTCHED OPPORTUNITY: CNBC's Sara Eisen said Trump "owns the NFL right now and has really hit this hard and continues to hit it." Eisen: "What it shows actually is the NFL botched the response from a PR perspective" ("Power Lunch," CNBC, 6/5). In Detroit, Shawn Windsor writes the NFL's "cowardly, bottom-line retreat has left a larger vacuum, into which Trump has stepped, where he's happy to use the league as a prop, and a foil, to lather up resentment and hate" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/6). In Pittsburgh, Ron Cook writes what makes the NFL owners the "real losers" is that they "live in fear of what Trump will do or say next." If the owners "think it's bad now, they really aren't going to like what Trump says in September about the players who stay in the locker room" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 6/6).
WINNING ISSUE FOR TRUMP: In Boston, Tara Sullivan writes the NFL just "keeps getting played by Trump." The league was "so desperate to make the issue disappear that it tried to appease" him with the new anthem policy. However, it is only "managing to make it linger as Trump learns over and over again how much political capital he gains by keeping it out there." Sullivan: "He sees it as a way to keep winning" (BOSTON HERALD, 6/6). In DC, Jerry Brewer writes the anthem policy is a "winning issue for Trump, and considering how badly the league has botched its part, it can only lose from now on, no matter what it does." So whenever Trump needs to "energize his base or create a distraction, he can torment the NFL" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/6). THE HILL's Niall Stanage wrote Trump has "returned again and again" to the NFL because it shows his supporters he is "standing up for patriotic values against cosseted athletes and a broader liberal culture that backs them" (THEHILL.com, 6/5). USA TODAY’s Erik Brady writes Trump is "weaponizing the anthem in a counterfeit war of his own making." He "wraps himself in the flag" and "objects when NFL players do not salute him" (USA TODAY, 6/6). A PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER editorial states it is "wrong for Trump to exploit the genuine love Americans have for their country by suggesting any criticism of this nation is an attack on its very existence" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 6/6).
PICK A SIDE: In Toronto, Bruce Arthur writes the NFL and its owners "have to choose" a side on this issue. They can "try to appeal to a president who demands ever more exacting displays" of patriotism, who is "using your players as red meat to feed to the racism and ignorance of his base." Arthur: "Or you, the NFL owners, can choose your players. Commit real money to real causes; build trust, and let them kneel" (TORONTO STAR, 6/6). YAHOO SPORTS' Dan Wetzel wrote Goodell should be going on camera to "hammer Fox News" for a video incorrectly portraying Eagles players as kneeling during the anthem instead of participating in pregame prayer and "blasting Trump for lying about the players and their motives." Goodell made a federal case out of Deflategate, but he "doesn’t care if his players are being attacked by the president and his favorite network for praying before a game?" The NFL's logo is a shield, but where is Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, Texans Owner Bob McNair, Patriots Owner Robert Kraft or Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie to "wield it in an effort to protect?" Wetzel wrote of the NFL, "If nothing else it should grow the spine necessary to fight for its employees, if not its own reputation" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/5). ESPN's Michael Wilbon said team owners are "largely in lockstep" with Trump politically, and the league "may as well put Donald Trump's face on their shield." However, ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said the NFL should not "respond at all" and not "rise to the bait." Kornheiser: "Stay as far away as you can" ("PTI," ESPN, 6/5).
LURIE COULD'VE DONE MORE: In Philadelphia, Dave Zangaro wrote the Eagles' statement after being disinvited from the White House "noticeably lacked teeth." Many people claimed the team was "taking the high road," but there was "plenty of ground between that toothless statement and the scathing one released" by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney. Lurie had an "opportunity and a responsibility to defend his players and passed." His name "didn't even appear on the statement the Eagles sent out Monday evening." That "tepid string of words was attributed to a faceless franchise" (NBCSPORTSPHILADELPHIA.com, 6/5).
