President Donald Trump is excited about the return of live sports in the coming months. However, he may not be watching much of it depending on whether athletes kneel during the National Anthem.
On Tuesday morning, the President took to Twitter to share his opinions on the controversial topic. He tweeted: “Looking forward to live sports, but any time I witness a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag, the game is over for me!”
Twitter users shared a mixed reaction to the President’s message. One Twitter user writes: “Me too…I will not sit & watch a bunch of spoilt brat millionaire athletes spit on the graves of those who died to give them freedom & prosperity they have. Another user chimed in with an opposing view writing: PROTESTING is a RIGHT. American citizens have the right to engage in peaceful protesting which includes kneeling during the National Anthem if they choose to.”
President Trump Comments on National Anthem Kneeling at Oklahoma Rally
Kneeling during the National Anthem at sports events started in the NFL back in 2016. Since then, President Trump weighed in on the topic a number of times. Most recently, he spoke about the issue at his Tulsa, Oklahoma rally.
“And explain this to the NFL. I like the NFL, I like Roger Goodell, but I didn’t like what he said a week ago,” the President said in regards to the NFL commissioner’s stance on kneeling. “I said ‘where did that come from in the middle of the summer? Nobody’s even asking.’ We will never kneel to our national anthem or our great American flag. We will stand proud, and we will stand tall.”
The President continued by mentioning how the NFL’s TV ratings and attendance dropped when the kneeling started. “I thought we won that battle with the NFL. Their stadiums were emptying out,” President Trump said. “Took them a long time to get you back. A lot of people didn’t like that.”
[H/T USA Today]
