PROTESTS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Players around the National Football League demonstrated before games Sunday [9-24-17] as part of an escalating feud between President Donald Trump and the professional sports world.
The number of protests surged far beyond anything the NFL has seen before, with players on every team making gestures of some sort at stadiums around the country.
Some players knelt for the national anthem, while others interlocked arms. Three teams so far—the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans—didn’t take the field at all for the national anthem. The Titans in a statement said the ‘players jointly decided this was the best course of action’ and ‘the absence of our team for the national anthem shouldn’t be misconstrued as unpatriotic.’
The events effectively represented a leaguewide expression, as many owners expressed support for their players and even stood with their teams before the game.
The actions were in response to a series of statements and Twitter posts through the weekend in which Mr. Trump blasted NFL players for not respecting the flag and encouraged owners to fire those who protest. On Sunday, the president tweeted that fans should boycott the league if the protests continue.”
-Andrew Beaton and Matthew Futterman, “NFL Protests Spread as Trump’s Feud With Athletes Escalates,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 25, 2017 07:25am