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NBA, NFL and athletes hit back after Trump tirade

13 Comments
By Rob Woollard

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© 2017 AFP

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Pictures of protest throughout the day of NFL games here:

https://www.sbnation.com/2017/9/24/16354916/nfl-protest-national-anthem-donald-trump

0 ( +0 / -0 )

In London....LOL.

Yes, that's why the protest and the game is already being blacklisted this morning. Not ONE word or update of this game on any channel.

That's because NFL's first London game of 2017 is a digital streaming exclusive:

http://www.inwarnews.com/news/NFL-s-first-London-game-of-2017-is-a-digital-streaming-exclusive.r1lo6JgNiZ.html

That’s because Verizon, which owns Yahoo, AOL, the Huffington Post, Complex and various other digital properties, holds exclusive global streaming rights to the game. Fans can stream the game on desktop or mobile devices from any Verizon-owned site, as well as NFL Mobile, NFL.com and the NFL app.

However, the Ravens-Jaguars game isn’t entirely unavailable on television. Local fans in the Baltimore, Maryland and Jacksonville, Florida television markets will still be able to watch the game on their CBS affiliates. The game will also be broadcast on Sky Sports in the U.K.

Verizon paid $21 million for the right to stream the NFL’s first London game of the season, the Wall Street Journal reported.

And apparently, the London game was just the beginning:

"NFL players responded to Donald Trump with more protests than ever"

A day after Donald Trump tweeted protesting players should be fired, there has been an increase in protests.

Donald Trump attacked NFL players protesting during the national anthem on Friday night. On Sunday, Trump took to Twitter, telling his followers to boycott the NFL. The comments only emboldened the movement and encouraged more players to participate.

Many players who hadn’t participated in the movement started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the past joined.

Trump said Friday that NFL owners who see players “disrespecting the flag” should say “get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired.”

"Personally, I think the comments made about my brothers who decided to protest and kneel is kind of what made us no longer be silent. We stand with our brothers,” Suggs said via ESPN. “They have the right to protest. We knelt with them today. Non-violent protest is as American as it gets. We knelt with them today and let them know we are a unified front. There is no dividing us. I guess we're all sons of b------."

It's one thing to criticize how some players are protesting, but it's another thing to call them names and demand they be fired for their right to peaceful protest. The NFL and the NFLPA are showing that, they may not agree how some players are kneeling during the anthem as their way of protest, but they are united with those players to have the right to peacefully protest and not be fired for it.

So, they knelt too just to protest Trump's comments trying to divide them. All these wouldn't have happened if Trump had not made those comments. It took this to unify the NFL owners and the NFLPA, who don't like each other.

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And on the day Trump releases more tweets about this, the Ravens-Jaguars NFL game abroad in London's Wembley Stadium just saw both sides' dozens of players stage the biggest protest yet in response to Trump's comments,

In London....LOL.

Yes, that's why the protest and the game is already being blacklisted this morning. Not ONE word or update of this game on any channel.

Be careful what you ask for, you may get it.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

And on the day Trump releases more tweets about this, the Ravens-Jaguars NFL game abroad in London's Wembley Stadium just saw both sides' dozens of players stage the biggest protest yet in response to Trump's comments, with the Jaguars owner (one of the 7 NFL owners who contributed $1 million each to Trump's inauguration festivities) locking arm-in-arm solidarity with his players on the field

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/nfl/4535289/nfl-take-a-knee-wembley-jacksonville-baltimore-donald-trump/

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What if a J-school principal forces the teachers to stand for Kimigayo?

It's publicly famous that the NFL players association and the NFL commissioner's office (who work for the NFL owners) openly hate each other, but it took a tweet like this to get NFL Commissioner Goodell to actually side with the players' right to protest like this. Even Patriots owner Robert Kraft --a well-known Trump supporter-- spoke against Trump on this:

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/911926759590957056/photo/1

"I am deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the President on Friday... Our players are intelligent, thoughtful and care deeply about our community and I support their right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful."

-- Patriots owner Robert Kraft, 5:14 AM - 24 Sep 2017

As mentioned before, the NBA just set the all-time regular-season attendance record for the 3rd season in a row. Yet protests there are more pronounced, even led by the star players like LeBron James, Steph Curry (who wouldn't be attending the upcoming Warriors' White House visit), Kevin Durant, etc.

The NBA is making so much money hand over fist right now that an average NBA player's salary is over $6 million (the highest in the world), the salary cap is skyrocketing, and we laugh whenever just a "so-so" NBA player somehow gets an over-$100 million multi-year contract

http://www.businessinsider.com/nfl-mlb-nba-nhl-average-sports-salaries-2016-11

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It is sad that the US President praises neo-Nazis, while condemning anti-racists. Perhaps it is not surprising, given that his father was in the KKK.

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Wow. He called them "sons of bitches".

The man and his supporters have no idea. Not a clue.

Hope they step up and burn the tawdry American flag at future protests.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Add MLB to the list now, after an Oakland A's catcher became the first ever to kneel for the anthem.

Even bitter old man Trump secretly wants Kaepernick's jersey for Christmas.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

its sad that these multimillionaires won't even support the flag of the country that allows them to be multimillionaires for playing with a ball.

just do anything to try to score points on Trump I guess. But I am quite sure the fans and regular America sides with Trump on this one. He is simply asking not to disrespect the flag and anthem of the country that allows them to have the rich entititled lives they have.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

How tiring it must be to be Trump (or his wife, kids etc) & pick fights every single day of your life. The bloke never stops, anyone's a potential target. 

Maybe if some of these people would have more respect for the office of the presidency or the flag or the fans that go to the games or people that feel entitled that they are free to do whatever they want, then maybe he wouldn't have to say anything.

Not the first time players protest/don't sing the national anthem, happens everywhere. It's sports federations/governing body's job to deal with it, not PM/president's.

Not the first time and it doesn't bother me when they have a legitimate reason to protest, but it's not fair to do it during a game or when people pay money to watch these guys play, keep the politics out of the game. Ever notice how much ESPN is bleeding money these days? People watch sports to relax and escape from the craziness that envelopes the world and these guys want to bring politics into the game? Give me a break!

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

and I know he would support these players and be horrified that his memory is being used to continue the oppression of African Americans, something he was deeply against.

oppression?? Oh right.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

People refused to listen to Black Lives Matter because they said they weren't respectful enough. So a man does a quiet, respectful protest, and they still don't want to listen. It's not the form of protest they are objecting to. By the way my grandfather was a proud WWII vet who also marched and protested for civil rights and believed deeply in equality, and I know he would support these players and be horrified that his memory is being used to continue the oppression of African Americans, something he was deeply against.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

How tiring it must be to be Trump (or his wife, kids etc) & pick fights every single day of your life. The bloke never stops, anyone's a potential target.

Not the first time players protest/don't sing the national anthem, happens everywhere. It's sports federations/governing body's job to deal with it, not PM/president's.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

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