Trump, at His Rally, Rebukes NFL for Its National Anthem Kneeling Policy

During his remarks at a rally in Great Falls, Montana on Thursday night, President Donald Trump mentioned the NFL — and its recently updated national anthem kneeling policy. He’s no fan — let’s put it that way.

“Hey, how about the NFL?” the president said to the audience. “Look, I don’t want to cause controversy … They passed this stupid thing. You don’t have to do this anymore if you don’t respect the flag or if you don’t like the country or whatever it is — just go into the locker room.”

“I think in many respects that’s worse. Isn’t that worse than not standing? You know?” said Trump. “I think that’s worse. You know what? It doesn’t play. It doesn’t play.”

The NFL decided in May that players who are on the field must stand for the playing or the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” However, the league also gave players the option of staying in the locker room if they do not want to partake in standing for the anthem.

As President Trump noted, the league is not really addressing the issue of whether or not the players are respecting the flag; it’s simply moving it away from the fans’ eyes, since kneeling was a negative optic for fans last season.

Most of the country agrees with the president on this issue. A survey conducted by the Washington Post in February found that 53 percent of Americans believe it is “never appropriate” to kneel during the national anthem — as opposed to 42 percent who are OK with it under certain circumstances.

And last September, 64 percent of Americans polled by Remington Research Group said they believe players should stand for the national anthem.

Trump is simply speaking for the masses when he talks about the NFL and what it’s done with the anthem. Like most other Americans, he wants to see guys who have become millionaires playing a child’s game be thankful for their place in life — and most of all, show respect to the military, the police and the country.

Trump gave the league some decent advice about what to do to retain the fans it currently has.

The NFL will do what it wants, but its ratings have plummeted by more than 15 percent over the past two years. If it wants to be around in 10 years, the NFL probably can’t afford to keep losing fans at this rate — and Trump gave the league some decent advice about what to do to retain the ones it currently has.

Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, ESPN, and other outlets.

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