President Donald Trump continued to stoke the controversy over NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem to protest law enforcement.
“If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast,” Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday morning. “Fire or suspend!”
Trump said that NFL attendance and television ratings were “way down” suggesting that the protests from players were having a damaging effect on the game.
“NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN. Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country,” Trump wrote. “League should back U.S.”
Several NFL owners, however, sided with their players and their right to protest, lamenting Trump’s decision to get involved
Trump brought up the protests during his rally in Alabama on Friday.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He is fired. He’s fired!'” Trump said.
He said the protests were a “total disrespect of our heritage” and “a total disrespect of everything that we stand for.”